ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 26,400 shares, an increase of 25.7% from the February 13th total of 21,000 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 25,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Institutional Trading of ESSA Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESSA. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 47,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,539 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 7,696 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased 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 worth $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased 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 worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 8,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 worth $3,577,000 after purchasing an additional 4,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.15% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on ESSA Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company.

ESSA Bancorp Stock Down 2.0 %

ESSA stock traded down $0.39 on Friday, reaching $18.86. 13,117 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,748. ESSA Bancorp has a one year low of $15.29 and a one year 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. The company has a market cap of $191.52 million, a P/E ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.77.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. ESSA Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.48%.

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.