ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average of $17.35

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $17.35 and traded as high as $18.22. ESSA Bancorp shares last traded at $17.30, with a volume of 35,997 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised ESSA Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th.

ESSA Bancorp Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $175.25 million, a PE ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.35.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $28.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.60 million. ESSA Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 17.88%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ESSA Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. ESSA Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 32.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 23,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in ESSA Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 14,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 4,608 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in ESSA Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $322,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745 shares in the last quarter. 54.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.