Short Interest in ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) Increases By 20.0%

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 21,000 shares, an increase of 20.0% from the January 31st total of 17,500 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 23,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of ESSA Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $109,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 44.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 12,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Finally, 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 acquiring an additional 8,895 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

ESSA Bancorp Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:ESSA opened at $19.84 on Friday. ESSA Bancorp has a 52 week low of $15.29 and a 52 week high of $22.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.55 and a 200 day moving average of $19.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.40.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter. ESSA Bancorp had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 7.27%.

ESSA Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. ESSA Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.48%.

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.