VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $18.89 (last $18.62), even though analysts are mixed — Weiss upgraded to a Buy while Zacks cut to Strong Sell and the MarketBeat consensus price target is $13.00.
• VersaBank reported Q results that met EPS estimates ($0.27) with revenue of $26.8M slightly below expectations, a trailing P/E of 25.92, ROE of 7.7%, net margin of 10.0%, and an FY EPS forecast of about $1.27.
• The bank — a fully digital Canadian lender with a $584.3M market cap — pays a quarterly dividend of $0.025 (annualized $0.10, ~0.6% yield, 10% payout ratio) and has roughly 56.9% institutional ownership.

Shares of VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $18.89 and last traded at $18.6180, with a volume of 62092 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded VersaBank from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded VersaBank from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.00.

VersaBank Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $584.30 million, a P/E ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.50.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.27. The company had revenue of $26.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.92 million. VersaBank had a return on equity of 7.70% and a net margin of 10.03%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that VersaBank will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VersaBank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. VersaBank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VersaBank

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in VersaBank by 2.7% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,915,984 shares of the company's stock worth $35,604,000 after acquiring an additional 75,358 shares in the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp boosted its holdings in VersaBank by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 1,057,693 shares of the company's stock worth $15,392,000 after acquiring an additional 26,559 shares in the last quarter. Curi Capital LLC boosted its holdings in VersaBank by 5.0% in the second quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 800,000 shares of the company's stock worth $9,120,000 after acquiring an additional 38,337 shares in the last quarter. Pembroke Management LTD boosted its holdings in VersaBank by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 736,222 shares of the company's stock worth $11,029,000 after acquiring an additional 213,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. boosted its holdings in VersaBank by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 674,277 shares of the company's stock worth $10,101,000 after acquiring an additional 50,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.86% of the company's stock.

VersaBank Company Profile

VersaBank is a Canadian Schedule I chartered bank that operates as a fully digital institution, offering a range of deposit and lending solutions through its proprietary technology platform. Headquartered in London, Ontario, the bank has chosen to forego a traditional branch network in favor of online and digital distribution, enabling it to serve clients across Canada and the United States with efficiency and lower overhead.

The bank’s primary business activities include the origination and securitization of commercial loans, equipment financing, residential mortgages and construction loans.

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