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

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

ESSA Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of ESSA Bancorp stock opened at $17.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.90 million, a P/E ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.82. ESSA Bancorp has a 12 month low of $15.29 and a 12 month high of $22.22. 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 (NASDAQ:ESSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter. ESSA Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 14.83%.

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. ESSA Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESSA. FJ Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 967,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,860,000 after purchasing an additional 25,176 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 123.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 37,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $739,000 after buying an additional 20,930 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 104.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 29,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 15,166 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 184.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 8,895 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in ESSA Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $109,000. 54.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.