8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): February 25, 2021

ESSA Bancorp, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Pennsylvania	001-33384	20-8023072
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)	(Commission File No.)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

200 Palmer Street, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania	18360
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (570) 421-0531

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common	ESSA	Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 8.01 Other Events

On February 25, 2021, ESSA Bancorp, Inc. announced that it would make a payment of a cash dividend of $0.12 per share of common stock. This dividend represents an increase of $0.01 per share, or 9.1%, over the dividend paid in the previous quarter and will be paid to stockholders of record as of March 16, 2021, payable on March 31, 2021. A copy of the press release announcing the dividend is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this report.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(a) Financial Statements of Businesses Acquired. Not applicable.

(b) Pro Forma Financial Information. Not applicable.

(c) Shell Company Transactions. Not applicable.

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	ESSA Bancorp, Inc. press release dated February 25, 2021.
104	Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.

	ESSA BANCORP, INC.
DATE: February 26, 2021	By:	/s/ Gary S. Olson
		Gary S. Olson, President and Chief Executive Officer

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

Date:	February 25, 2021
Contact:	Gary S. Olson, President & CEO
Corporate Office:	200 Palmer Street
	Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania 18360
Telephone:	(570) 421-0531

ESSA BANCORP, INC. DECLARES INCREASE IN QUARTERLY DIVIDEND

Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, February 25, 2021—ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Market^SM: ESSA), the holding company for ESSA Bank & Trust, today announced that its Board of Directors declared a dividend of twelve cents ($0.12) per share. The dividend represents an increase of $0.01 per share, or 9.1% over the dividend paid in the previous quarter and is payable to shareholders of record as of March 16, 2021, payable on March 31, 2021.

About the Company

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for its wholly owned subsidiary, ESSA Bank & Trust, which was formed in 1916. The Company has total assets of $1.8 billion. Headquartered in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, the Company has two regional offices in Bethlehem and Plymouth Meeting, and operates 22 community offices throughout the Lehigh Valley, suburban Philadelphia and northeastern Pennsylvania regions. ESSA Bank & Trust offers a full range of commercial and retail banking services, employee benefits, investment services and asset management and trust capabilities. ESSA Bancorp Inc. stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Market (SM) under the symbol “ESSA”.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by reference to a future period or periods, or by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “may,” “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “continue,” or similar terms or variations on those terms, or the negative of those terms. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those related to the economic environment, particularly in the market areas in which the Company operates, competitive products and pricing, fiscal and monetary policies of the U.S. Government, changes in government regulations affecting financial institutions, including compliance costs and capital requirements, changes in prevailing interest rates, acquisitions and the integration of acquired businesses, credit risk management, asset-liability management, the financial and securities markets and the availability of and costs associated with sources of liquidity. The Company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company wishes to advise readers that the factors listed above could affect the Company’s financial performance and could cause the Company’s actual results for future periods to differ materially from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods in any current statements. The Company does not undertake and specifically declines any obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions, that may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

Corporate Center: 200 Palmer Street PO Box L Stroudsburg, PA 18360-0160 570-421-0531    Fax: 570-421-7158

XML

Document and Entity Information	Feb. 25, 2021
Cover [Abstract]
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0001382230
Document Type	8-K
Document Period End Date	Feb. 25, 2021
Entity Registrant Name	ESSA Bancorp, Inc.
Entity Incorporation State Country Code	PA
Entity File Number	001-33384
Entity Tax Identification Number	20-8023072
Entity Address, Address Line One	200 Palmer Street
Entity Address, City or Town	Stroudsburg
Entity Address, State or Province	PA
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	18360
City Area Code	(570)
Local Phone Number	421-0531
Security 12b Title	Common
Trading Symbol	ESSA
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre Commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre Commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false