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

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

ESSA Bancorp Stock Down 0.3 %

ESSA stock opened at $21.77 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.36. ESSA Bancorp has a 52 week low of $15.29 and a 52 week high of $22.22. The company has a market cap of $220.97 million, a P/E ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.40.

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

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESSA Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in ESSA Bancorp by 123.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 37,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $739,000 after acquiring an additional 20,930 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 104.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 29,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 15,166 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 8,895 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 51.8% during 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 buying an additional 7,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in ESSA Bancorp by 2.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 186,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,577,000 after buying an additional 4,431 shares in the last quarter. 54.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.