Northeast Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA)

Northeast Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Northeast Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in ESSA Bancorp were worth $305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 126.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 8,136 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 184.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 8,895 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 2.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 186,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,577,000 after buying an additional 4,431 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 115,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,229,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 51.8% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 7,696 shares during the period. 54.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

ESSA Bancorp Stock Performance

ESSA Bancorp stock opened at $21.25 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.21. ESSA Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.29 and a 52 week high of $21.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.69 million, a P/E ratio of 11.94 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. ESSA Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.71%.

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.