JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Position in ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) by 126.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,136 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.14% of ESSA Bancorp worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESSA. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 184.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 8,895 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 7,696 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 186,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,577,000 after buying an additional 4,431 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 5.3% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 47,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 2,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 4.5% in 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 last quarter. 54.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

ESSA Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESSA opened at $20.92 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.22. ESSA Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.29 and a twelve month high of $21.62. The company has a market capitalization of $212.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. ESSA Bancorp had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 7.55%.

ESSA Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. ESSA Bancorp’s payout ratio is 33.71%.

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.