VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Shares Down 1.2% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• VersaBank shares declined by 1.2%, closing at $11.80, with a notable drop in trading volume of 55% compared to average sessions.
• Analyst ratings show a consensus of "Hold" with one Buy rating, while Zacks Research downgraded the stock to a "strong sell."
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.025, payable on October 31st, representing an annual yield of 0.8%.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK - Get Free Report) shares fell 1.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $11.77 and last traded at $11.80. 31,127 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 68,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VBNK shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of VersaBank in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded VersaBank from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded VersaBank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.27.

VersaBank Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $379.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 0.98.

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

VersaBank Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of VersaBank

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of VersaBank by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,840,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,383,000 after buying an additional 29,613 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp lifted its position in VersaBank by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 1,052,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,000,000 after acquiring an additional 40,127 shares in the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc lifted its position in VersaBank by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 943,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,770,000 after acquiring an additional 48,547 shares in the last quarter. Curi Capital LLC lifted its position in VersaBank by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 800,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,120,000 after acquiring an additional 38,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC lifted its position in VersaBank by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 761,663 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,891,000 after acquiring an additional 125,000 shares in the last quarter. 56.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About VersaBank

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.

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