Short Interest in ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) Rises By 17.2%

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) was the target of a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 38,800 shares, an increase of 17.2% from the June 30th total of 33,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 12,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 441,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 41,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 3,150 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 30,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ESSA Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $300,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.15% of the company’s stock.

ESSA Bancorp Stock Up 2.9 %

ESSA opened at $19.89 on Wednesday. ESSA Bancorp has a twelve month low of $14.30 and a twelve month high of $20.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.73. The company has a market cap of $201.49 million, a PE ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 0.37.

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. ESSA Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.43%.

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.