Raymond James hikes Esquire Financial rating on Signature Bancorp deal

Raymond James upgrades shares of community lender Esquire Financial ESQ.O to "strong buy" from "market perform"

Says the acquisition of privately held, Chicago-based Signature Bancorporation with $2 bln in assets is highly accretive, improves bank’s growth profile and supports an upward bias to estimates

The deal is expected to close in 3Q26 and be 23% accretive to 2027E EPS - Raymond James

Two of three analysts rate stock "strong buy" or "buy" and one "hold"; their median PT is $121 - data compiled by LSEG

YTD, as of last close, ESQ up 3.8%