ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 26,400 shares, a growth of 25.7% from the February 13th total of 21,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 25,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

ESSA Bancorp Price Performance

ESSA traded down $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,711. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.40. ESSA Bancorp has a twelve month low of $15.29 and a twelve month high of $22.22.

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 return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 14.83%.

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. ESSA Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.48%.

Institutional Trading of ESSA Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FJ Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 967,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,860,000 after buying an additional 25,176 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 186,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,641,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 0.5% in the 3rd 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 period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after buying an additional 2,289 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 54.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on ESSA Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday. 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.