VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 41,961 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the previous session’s volume of 39,815 shares.The stock last traded at $15.7540 and had previously closed at $16.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm increased their price target on VersaBank from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of VersaBank in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of VersaBank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.00.

VersaBank Trading Down 0.5%

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $14.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $501.39 million, a PE ratio of 24.15 and a beta of 0.94.

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

VersaBank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. VersaBank’s payout ratio is presently 10.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VersaBank

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pembroke Management LTD boosted its holdings in VersaBank by 27.3% in the second quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 429,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,898,000 after acquiring an additional 92,262 shares during the last quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. purchased a new position in VersaBank in the second quarter valued at approximately $125,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in VersaBank by 13.5% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 140,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,604,000 after buying an additional 16,739 shares during the period. Salzhauer Michael boosted its position in VersaBank by 27.3% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Militia Capital Partners LP boosted its position in VersaBank by 16.7% during the 3rd 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 period. 56.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.