ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) in a report released on Wednesday. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

ESSA Bancorp Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:ESSA opened at $18.27 on Wednesday. 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 has a one year low of $15.82 and a one year high of $22.22. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.64. The stock has a market cap of $185.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.47.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.03). ESSA Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 14.83%. The business had revenue of $16.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.19 million.

ESSA Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. ESSA Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESSA. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in ESSA Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $109,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in ESSA Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $196,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new stake in ESSA Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 3,731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.15% of the company’s stock.

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.