ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $17.90 and traded as high as $19.27. ESSA Bancorp shares last traded at $18.82, with a volume of 3,767 shares trading hands.

ESSA Bancorp Stock Up 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $192.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.92.

ESSA Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. ESSA Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.71%.

Institutional Trading of ESSA Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 8.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 41,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 3,150 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 441,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,044,000 after buying an additional 2,056 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake 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 worth $82,000 after buying an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in ESSA Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $300,000. 54.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.