Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Position in VersaBank $VBNK

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) by 29.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 112,700 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in VersaBank were worth $1,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in VersaBank in the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VersaBank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $198,000. Salzhauer Michael grew its stake in shares of VersaBank by 68.4% in the 2nd quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 16,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 6,843 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of VersaBank by 33.0% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of VersaBank in the second quarter valued at approximately $293,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.86% of the company’s stock.

VersaBank Price Performance

VBNK opened at $19.50 on Thursday. VersaBank has a 12 month low of $10.24 and a 12 month high of $25.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $630.43 million, a P/E ratio of 28.26 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.67.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 3rd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.02. VersaBank had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 9.34%.The firm had revenue of $28.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.86 million. Research analysts anticipate that VersaBank will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

VersaBank Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. VersaBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VBNK. Roth Capital raised VersaBank from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VersaBank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of VersaBank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

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.