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

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

ESSA Bancorp Stock Performance

ESSA Bancorp stock opened at $19.25 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.48 million, a PE ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.47. ESSA Bancorp has a 1-year low of $15.82 and a 1-year high of $22.22.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.03). ESSA Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 14.83%. The company had revenue of $16.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.19 million.

ESSA Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. ESSA Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESSA Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 186,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,641,000 after buying an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $946,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 12,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 1,858 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.15% of the company’s stock.

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.