VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• VersaBank hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $18.64 and last at $18.3150 on Monday with a volume of 18,956 shares.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with a $13.00 price target, while individual notes range from Buy to Sell and include a recent downgrade to "strong sell."
• Recent fundamentals show a $590.3M market cap, a P/E of 26.23, Q4 EPS of $0.27 (in line with estimates) and a newly announced quarterly dividend of $0.025 (annualized $0.10, ~0.5% yield).

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $18.64 and last traded at $18.3150, with a volume of 18956 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on VBNK. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of VersaBank in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research lowered VersaBank from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have 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 Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $590.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.33.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.92 million. VersaBank had a return on equity of 7.70% and a net margin of 10.03%. Equities analysts expect that VersaBank will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VersaBank Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. VersaBank's payout ratio is presently 10.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VBNK. Connors Investor Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VersaBank by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 13,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Salzhauer Michael lifted its position in shares of VersaBank by 27.3% during the third quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 21,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 4,600 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of VersaBank by 33.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 20,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 5,144 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of VersaBank by 5.8% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 148,391 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,804,000 after purchasing an additional 8,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Militia Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of VersaBank by 16.7% during the third quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 70,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $855,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. 56.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About VersaBank

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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