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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) in a research report released on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

ESSA Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESSA opened at $18.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $192.23 million, a P/E ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.51 and its 200 day moving average is $19.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. ESSA Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $15.29 and a fifty-two week high of $22.22.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter. ESSA Bancorp had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 7.27%.

ESSA Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. ESSA Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 34.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESSA. Barclays PLC raised its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 184.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 8,895 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 126.5% in the third 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 during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 2.4% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 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.