VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Trading Up 5.1% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• VersaBank is trading up 5.1%, reaching $15.96 midday after a high of $16.02, with about 28,015 shares changing hands (roughly 35% below average volume).
• The stock has a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $13.00, following mixed analyst actions (Roth MKM raised its target, Zacks cut to "strong sell," Weiss reaffirmed "hold (c)").
• Fundamentals: VersaBank reported Q EPS of $0.27 (in line with estimates), has a market cap of ~$526M and a PE of 23.4, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.025 (annualized $0.10, ~0.6% yield) with a 10% payout ratio.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK - Get Free Report) shares rose 5.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $16.02 and last traded at $15.96. Approximately 28,015 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 42,884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VBNK. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of VersaBank from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of VersaBank from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of VersaBank in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.00.

VersaBank Trading Up 8.1%

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $15.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $526.43 million, a PE ratio of 23.39 and a beta of 0.99.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.27. The business had revenue of $26.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.92 million. VersaBank had a net margin of 10.03% and a return on equity of 7.70%. On average, analysts predict that VersaBank will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

VersaBank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. VersaBank's dividend payout ratio is 10.00%.

Institutional Trading of VersaBank

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VBNK. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in VersaBank by 107.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 56,371 shares of the company's stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 29,169 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in VersaBank during the second quarter worth $293,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in VersaBank by 33.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 20,753 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 5,144 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in VersaBank by 1.1% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,840,626 shares of the company's stock worth $32,383,000 after buying an additional 29,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp boosted its holdings in VersaBank by 4.0% during the second quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 1,052,650 shares of the company's stock worth $12,000,000 after buying an additional 40,127 shares in the last quarter. 56.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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