ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

ESSA Bancorp Price Performance

ESSA opened at $21.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. ESSA Bancorp has a 1 year low of $15.29 and a 1 year high of $21.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.21. The firm has a market cap of $216.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.40.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter. ESSA Bancorp had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 7.55%.

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. ESSA Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESSA Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESSA. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in ESSA Bancorp by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 126.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 8,136 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 184.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 8,895 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 2.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 186,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,577,000 after buying an additional 4,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 115,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,229,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.15% of the company’s stock.

ESSA Bancorp Company Profile

ESSA Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for ESSA Bank & Trust that provides a range of financial services to individuals, families, and businesses in Pennsylvania. The company accepts savings accounts, interest bearing demand accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, club accounts, certificates of deposit and IRAs, and other qualified plan accounts, as well as commercial checking accounts.