Barclays PLC Boosts Position in ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA)

Barclays PLC raised its stake in ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) by 184.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,895 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.14% of ESSA Bancorp worth $264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 115,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,229,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 51.8% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc. increased 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 worth $314,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 47,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. 54.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESSA Bancorp Trading Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ ESSA opened at $20.05 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.05. ESSA Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $15.29 and a one year high of $21.50. 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 firm has a market cap of $203.51 million, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.40.

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. ESSA Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

ESSA Bancorp Profile

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.