VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 32,400 shares, an increase of 88.4% from the March 15th total of 17,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 29,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.2% of the company's shares are short sold.

VersaBank Trading Down 2.1 %

VBNK traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.03. 49,358 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,699. The firm's fifty day moving average is $10.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.64. VersaBank has a 1-year low of $6.36 and a 1-year high of $12.19. The company has a market cap of $260.38 million, a PE ratio of 7.80 and a beta of 0.77.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $21.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.05 million. VersaBank had a return on equity of 12.14% and a net margin of 17.59%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that VersaBank will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

VersaBank Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.0184 dividend. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. VersaBank's payout ratio is presently 3.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VersaBank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VBNK. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new position in shares of VersaBank in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,136,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of VersaBank by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,151,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,036,000 after buying an additional 115,141 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of VersaBank by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 124,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,357,000 after buying an additional 92,166 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of VersaBank by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 347,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,819,000 after buying an additional 29,982 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of VersaBank in the 4th quarter valued at about $142,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. TheStreet raised VersaBank from a "c" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Raymond James increased their target price on VersaBank from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th.

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.