ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA - Get Free Report) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $19.39 and traded as high as $20.46. ESSA Bancorp shares last traded at $20.18, with a volume of 22,342 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock.

ESSA Bancorp Trading Down 1.7%

The company's fifty day moving average price is $19.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.39. The firm has a market cap of $206.35 million, a P/E ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 0.43.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.03). ESSA Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 13.20%. The company had revenue of $16.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.19 million.

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. ESSA Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESSA Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 186,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,641,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 12,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 50,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,581 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 1,858 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.