ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.48% of ESSA Bancorp worth $946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 184.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 8,895 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 126.5% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake 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. Finally, State Street Corp lifted 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.15% of the company’s stock.

ESSA Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESSA opened at $21.77 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.39. ESSA Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.29 and a twelve month high of $22.22. The company has a market capitalization of $221.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 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 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 net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 7.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on ESSA Bancorp in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

ESSA Bancorp Company 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.