VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $15.76 and last traded at $15.7050, with a volume of 4006 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VBNK shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of VersaBank in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded VersaBank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Roth Capital raised their price objective on VersaBank from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.13.

VersaBank Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $499.06 million, a P/E ratio of 24.03 and a beta of 0.94.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24. The company had revenue of $25.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.48 million. VersaBank had a return on equity of 7.02% and a net margin of 9.33%. On average, research analysts predict that VersaBank will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VersaBank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. VersaBank’s payout ratio is presently 10.77%.

Institutional Trading of VersaBank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VBNK. Connors Investor Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Salzhauer Michael grew 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 buying an additional 4,600 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in VersaBank by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 20,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 5,144 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in VersaBank by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 148,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,804,000 after acquiring an additional 8,080 shares during the period. Finally, Militia Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in VersaBank by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 70,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.86% of the company’s stock.

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.