Northeast Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA)

Northeast Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Northeast Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of ESSA Bancorp worth $305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 8,895 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 126.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 8,136 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 7,696 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in ESSA Bancorp by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 47,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 2,412 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 115,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on ESSA Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

ESSA Bancorp Stock Up 0.9 %

ESSA stock opened at $21.25 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.29 and a 12 month high of $21.62. The company has a market capitalization of $215.69 million, a P/E ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.21.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. ESSA Bancorp’s payout ratio is 33.71%.

About ESSA Bancorp

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.