ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) in a research note released on Saturday. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

ESSA Bancorp Price Performance

ESSA Bancorp stock opened at $20.84 on Friday. ESSA Bancorp has a 12-month low of $15.29 and a 12-month high of $22.22. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $211.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESSA Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 184.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 8,895 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 126.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 8,136 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 115,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 2.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 186,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,577,000 after purchasing an additional 4,431 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.