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

Investment analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) in a research report issued on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

ESSA Bancorp Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:ESSA opened at $18.98 on Thursday. ESSA Bancorp has a 12 month low of $15.29 and a 12 month high of $22.22. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.84. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $192.74 million, a PE ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 0.40.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last announced its 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 7.27% and a net margin of 14.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESSA Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FJ Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 967,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,860,000 after acquiring an additional 25,176 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 186,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,641,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 115,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 2,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during 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.