ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

ESSA Bancorp Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of ESSA stock opened at $21.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.20 and its 200-day moving average is $19.36. The stock has a market cap of $220.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.40. ESSA Bancorp has a 52-week low of $15.29 and a 52-week high of $22.22.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued 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 is currently 34.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 8,895 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 8,136 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 554 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,431 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 7,696 shares during the period. 54.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.