ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

ESSA Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESSA opened at $21.00 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.50. ESSA Bancorp has a one year low of $15.29 and a one year high of $22.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.40.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter. ESSA Bancorp had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 7.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 27.8% during 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 during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of ESSA Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $109,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 12,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 184.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 8,895 shares during the period. 54.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.