VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $20.07, but opened at $18.80. VersaBank shares last traded at $18.88, with a volume of 7,892 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VBNK. Zacks Research raised VersaBank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised VersaBank from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.00.

VersaBank Trading Up 1.2%

The stock has a market cap of $618.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.51.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 3rd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $28.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.86 million. VersaBank had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 9.34%. Sell-side analysts forecast that VersaBank will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VersaBank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. VersaBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.00%.

Institutional Trading of VersaBank

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VBNK. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of VersaBank by 107.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 56,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 29,169 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VersaBank during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $293,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,144 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of VersaBank by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,840,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,383,000 after purchasing an additional 29,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp grew its holdings in shares of VersaBank by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 1,052,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,000,000 after purchasing an additional 40,127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.86% of the company’s stock.

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.