ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average of $17.53

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $17.53 and traded as high as $18.10. ESSA Bancorp shares last traded at $18.04, with a volume of 11,940 shares changing hands.

ESSA Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.21 and a 200-day moving average of $17.53. The company has a market capitalization of $182.78 million, a P/E ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.36.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). ESSA Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 15.78%. The firm had revenue of $16.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.29 million.

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. ESSA Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESSA. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 1,141.9% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 3,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 27.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 961 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $300,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 3.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 30,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.15% of the company’s stock.

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.