ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) Now Covered by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA - Free Report) in a research note released on Wednesday. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider's stock.

ESSA Bancorp Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:ESSA traded down $0.23 on Wednesday, hitting $18.27. 13,658 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,098. 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 52 week low of $15.82 and a 52 week high of $22.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.47. The company's 50-day moving average price is $18.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.62.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.19 million.

ESSA Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in ESSA Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $196,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 3.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 50,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 66.5% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 30,498 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 12,180 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in ESSA Bancorp in the first quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 34.9% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959 shares in the last quarter. 54.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.