StockNews.com Begins Coverage on ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA)

Investment analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) in a note issued to investors on Saturday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

ESSA Bancorp Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of ESSA stock opened at $21.00 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. ESSA Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $15.29 and a fifty-two week high of $22.22. The stock has a market cap of $213.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.40.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 7.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 12,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 967,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,860,000 after buying an additional 25,176 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in ESSA Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $109,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 3,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,361,000 after buying an additional 2,289 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.15% of the company’s stock.

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.