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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of VersaBank from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of VersaBank in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of VersaBank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, VersaBank presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.00.

VersaBank Stock Up 8.1%

The stock’s 50-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 price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39 and a beta of 0.99.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27. The business had revenue of $26.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.92 million. VersaBank had a net margin of 10.03% and a return on equity of 7.70%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that VersaBank will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

VersaBank Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VersaBank

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