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

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

ESSA Bancorp has raised its dividend by an average of 11.6% per year 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% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Stock Performance

Shares of ESSA Bancorp stock 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 50 day moving average price of $15.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.08 million, a PE ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 0.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 9,353 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP boosted its position in ESSA Bancorp by 218.6% in the first quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 72,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 49,891 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in ESSA Bancorp in the first quarter worth $275,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in ESSA Bancorp by 3.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC boosted its position in ESSA Bancorp by 23.7% in the first quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 47,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 9,114 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on ESSA Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

About ESSA Bancorp

(Get Rating)

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.