Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. Buys New Shares in ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA)

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 197,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,722,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. owned 1.94% of ESSA Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 12,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 1,107 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $18,860,000 after purchasing an additional 25,176 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in ESSA Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $109,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 44.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 2,289 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.15% of the company's stock.

ESSA Bancorp Trading Down 2.0%

NASDAQ ESSA opened at $20.18 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $19.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.39. The company has a market capitalization of $204.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.43. ESSA Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.82 and a 1-year high of $22.22.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $16.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.19 million. ESSA Bancorp had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 6.84%.

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. ESSA Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on ESSA Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock.

ESSA Bancorp 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.

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