VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $18.89 and last traded at $18.6180, with a volume of 62092 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VBNK. Zacks Research lowered VersaBank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded VersaBank from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.00.

VersaBank Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.61 and a 200 day moving average of $14.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $584.30 million, a P/E ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 1.11.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27. The business had revenue of $26.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.92 million. VersaBank had a return on equity of 7.70% and a net margin of 10.03%. Equities analysts forecast that VersaBank will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VersaBank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. VersaBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.00%.

Institutional Trading of VersaBank

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VBNK. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 acquiring an additional 29,169 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in VersaBank in the second quarter worth $293,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in VersaBank by 33.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in VersaBank by 1.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp increased its position in VersaBank by 4.0% in 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 during the last quarter. 56.86% of the stock is currently owned by 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.