VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday. The stock had previously closed at $22.95, but opened at $24.64. VersaBank shares last traded at $24.7290, with a volume of 14,365 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded VersaBank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VersaBank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 target price on shares of VersaBank in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Roth Capital lifted their target price on shares of VersaBank from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, VersaBank presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

VersaBank Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $774.12 million, a P/E ratio of 31.28 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.03.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.07). VersaBank had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $27.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.76 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that VersaBank will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VersaBank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th were given a dividend of C$0.03 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. VersaBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VersaBank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VBNK. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in shares of VersaBank by 0.3% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 187,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,429,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of VersaBank in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $239,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of VersaBank in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $274,000. State Street Corp bought a new position in VersaBank during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $340,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in VersaBank by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 36,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 18,289 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.86% of the company’s stock.

VersaBank Company Profile

VersaBank is a federally chartered Canadian bank that uses a digital-first model to provide banking and lending services, primarily through partnerships with financial institutions and other businesses rather than a traditional branch network. Headquartered in London, Ontario, the bank serves customers in Canada and has expanded its operations into the United States. Its activities include accepting deposits and providing commercial financing. Through its Receivable Purchase Program, VersaBank purchases portfolios of consumer financing receivables from lenders and businesses, helping those partners free up capital to support further lending.