ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) Shares Sold by Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of ESSA Bancorp worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 126.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 8,136 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 184.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 8,895 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ESSA Bancorp by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 186,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,577,000 after acquiring an additional 4,431 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in ESSA Bancorp by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 115,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of ESSA Bancorp by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 7,696 shares during the last quarter. 54.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESSA Bancorp Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of ESSA Bancorp stock opened at $21.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.04 and a 200 day moving average of $19.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.40. ESSA Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.29 and a fifty-two week high of $21.80.

ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. ESSA Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 14.83%.

ESSA Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. ESSA Bancorp’s payout ratio is 34.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ESSA Bancorp in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

ESSA Bancorp 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.