ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.15

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 24th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 16th will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 15th.

ESSA Bancorp has increased its dividend payment by an average of 11.6% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 2 years. ESSA Bancorp has a payout ratio of 32.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect ESSA Bancorp to earn $1.87 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.1%.

ESSA Bancorp Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ ESSA opened at $13.95 on Friday. ESSA Bancorp has a 52 week low of $12.79 and a 52 week high of $21.80. The stock has a market cap of $145.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Institutional Trading of ESSA Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in ESSA Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 20,766.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 2,577.4% during the fourth quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 3,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 89.1% during the fourth quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 8,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 4,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 4,102.2% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 9,353 shares during the last quarter. 37.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESSA Bancorp Company Profile

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ESSA Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company. The firm engages in the provision of banking, trust and advisory services. It offers personal and business banking, government financial services, investment and wealth management, retirement planning and insurance products. It operates through the following segments: Real Estate Loans, Commercial, Obligations of states and political subdivisions, Home equity loans and lines of credit, Auto loans and Other.