StockNews.com Begins Coverage on ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA - Free Report) in a research note published on Friday. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider's stock.

ESSA Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ESSA traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.77. The stock had a trading volume of 8,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,530. ESSA Bancorp has a twelve month low of $15.29 and a twelve month high of $22.22. The stock has a market cap of $221.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.40. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $20.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. ESSA Bancorp had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 7.33%.

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. ESSA Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESSA Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in ESSA Bancorp by 5.3% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 47,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in ESSA Bancorp by 4.5% during the third quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in ESSA Bancorp by 51.8% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,539 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 7,696 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in ESSA Bancorp by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 115,996 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,229,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in ESSA Bancorp by 184.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 8,895 shares during the last quarter. 54.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.