JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 15,166 Shares of ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA - Free Report) by 104.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,166 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.29% of ESSA Bancorp worth $580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of 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. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 3,568 shares during the period. 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. 54.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on ESSA Bancorp in a report on Sunday, April 27th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock.

ESSA Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESSA traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.97. 5,936 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,585. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.64 million, a P/E ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $18.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.67. ESSA Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.82 and a twelve month high of $22.22.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $16.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.19 million.

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. ESSA Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 38.71%.

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.