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

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) in a report published on Tuesday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

ESSA Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of ESSA opened at $19.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.48 million, a P/E ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.40. ESSA Bancorp has a twelve month low of $15.29 and a twelve month high of $22.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.56 and a 200-day moving average of $19.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last issued 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 14.83% and a return on equity of 7.27%.

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. ESSA Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 34.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESSA Bancorp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 8,895 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 8,136 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 0.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $3,577,000 after buying an additional 4,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.