Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Esquire Financial Holdings' stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• 51% of the business is held by the top 17 shareholders
• 17% of Esquire Financial Holdings is held by insiders

If you want to know who really controls Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 64% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Last week's 10% gain means that institutional investors were on the positive end of the spectrum even as the company has shown strong longer-term trends. The one-year return on investment is currently 60% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Esquire Financial Holdings.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Esquire Financial Holdings?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Esquire Financial Holdings does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Esquire Financial Holdings' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Esquire Financial Holdings. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Wasatch Advisors LP with 7.2% of shares outstanding. With 6.9% and 4.5% of the shares outstanding respectively, BlackRock, Inc. and Basswood Capital Management, L.L.C. are the second and third largest shareholders. Additionally, the company's CEO Andrew Sagliocca directly holds 3.1% of the total shares outstanding.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 17 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Esquire Financial Holdings

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc.. Insiders have a US$89m stake in this US$532m business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 19% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Esquire Financial Holdings. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Esquire Financial Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors.

Many find it useful to take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.