ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA – Get Rating) was the target of a significant increase in short-term interest in August. As of August 31, there was short interest totaling 8,900 shares, an increase of 34.8% from the total of 6,600 shares as of August 15. Based on an average daily trading volume of 13,100 shares, the short-term interest rate ratio is currently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional entries and exits

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently increased or reduced their stakes in the company. IAM Advisory LLC acquired a new equity stake in ESSA Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $236,000. BHZ Capital Management LP increased its equity stake in ESSA Bancorp by 35.3% in the first quarter. BHZ Capital Management LP now owns 18,386 shares of the financial services provider worth $330,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares last quarter. State Street Corp increased its equity stake in ESSA Bancorp by 6.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,802 shares of the financial services provider worth $822,000 after buying 2,714 more shares last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its equity stake in ESSA Bancorp by 29.8% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 50,430 shares of the financial services provider worth $905,000 after buying an additional 11,575 shares last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its equity interest in ESSA Bancorp by 15.0% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 323,338 shares of the financial services provider worth $5,804,000 after purchasing an additional 42,126 shares last quarter. Institutional investors hold 37.97% of the company’s shares.

ESSA Bancorp shares down 2.3%

ESSA was down $0.49 in Friday’s midday session, hitting $20.61. 23,069 shares of the company were traded, against an average volume of 9,549. The company has a market capitalization of $214.01 million, a price-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.31. ESSA Bancorp has a one-year low of $14.79 and a one-year high of $21.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.72 and a two-hundred-day simple moving average of $17.62.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly results on Wednesday, July 27. The financial services provider reported EPS of $0.51 for the quarter, beating analyst consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.10. ESSA Bancorp had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 8.70%. As a group, research analysts expect ESSA Bancorp to post EPS of 1.82 for the current fiscal year.

ESSA Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 30. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 16 will receive a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a dividend of $0.60 on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 15. ESSA Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 32.43%.

A Wall Street analyst gives his opinion

Separately, StockNews.com began covering ESSA Bancorp shares in a research note on Saturday, September 10. They issued a “buy” rating for the company.

ESSA Bancorp Company Profile

(Get an evaluation)

ESSA Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for ESSA Bank & Trust which provides a range of financial services to individuals, families and businesses in Pennsylvania. The company accepts savings accounts, interest-bearing current accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, club accounts, certificates of deposit and IRAs, and other qualified plan accounts, as well as business checking accounts.

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