ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) Shares Purchased by Panagora Asset Management Inc.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.29% of ESSA Bancorp worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESSA. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 27.1% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 30,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 441,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 1,141.9% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 3,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 3,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 8.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 41,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 3,150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.15% of the company’s stock.

ESSA Bancorp Stock Down 1.7 %

ESSA stock opened at $18.12 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.52. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $183.59 million, a P/E ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 0.37. ESSA Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $14.30 and a one year high of $20.87.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.04). ESSA Bancorp had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The business had revenue of $16.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.29 million.

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. ESSA Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 32.43%.

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.