VersaBank $VBNK Shares Bought by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in VersaBank by 3.8%, owning approximately 8.64% of the bank after acquiring 102,298 additional shares during the first quarter.
• VersaBank reported quarterly earnings of $0.22 EPS, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.20, and announced a dividend of $0.025 per share to be paid on October 10th.
• Several analysts recently adjusted their ratings on VersaBank, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $11.27.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,811,013 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 102,298 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 8.64% of VersaBank worth $29,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VBNK. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in VersaBank in the first quarter valued at $51,000. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in VersaBank in the 1st quarter worth approximately $112,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of VersaBank by 126.7% during the 1st quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 44,665 shares of the company's stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 24,965 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of VersaBank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $579,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in VersaBank by 107.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 56,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 29,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VBNK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down previously from $15.00) on shares of VersaBank in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded VersaBank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 6th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered VersaBank from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.27.

VersaBank Stock Performance

VBNK stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $11.90. 60,756 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 98,477. VersaBank has a 12 month low of $8.51 and a 12 month high of $18.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.02. The company has a market capitalization of $382.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 0.96.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.02. VersaBank had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 9.56%.The company had revenue of $22.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.01 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that VersaBank will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

VersaBank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. VersaBank's payout ratio is currently 10.29%.

VersaBank Company Profile

VersaBank provides various banking products and services in Canada and the United States. It offers deposit products, such as web-based chequing accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, registered retirement savings plans, and tax-free savings accounts, as well as deposit insurance products. The company also provides lending services, including point of sale financing that covers purchasing loan and lease receivables from finance companies operating in various industries; commercial banking services comprising commercial real estate, public sector/infrastructure financing, and condominium financing; and residential mortgages.