ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

ESSA Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:ESSA opened at $21.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.40. 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 fifty day moving average of $19.92 and a 200 day moving average of $19.19. ESSA Bancorp has a 52-week low of $15.29 and a 52-week high of $21.50.

Institutional Trading of ESSA Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in ESSA Bancorp by 2.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 186,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,577,000 after acquiring an additional 4,431 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 115,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 51.8% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 7,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Financial Group Inc. grew its position in ESSA Bancorp by 4.5% during the third quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.