VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Roth Capital raised VersaBank from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered VersaBank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VersaBank presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $25.00.

VersaBank Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:VBNK opened at $20.76 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $668.47 million, a PE ratio of 30.09 and a beta of 1.04. VersaBank has a 1 year low of $10.10 and a 1 year high of $25.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.21.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 3rd. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.02. VersaBank had a net margin of 9.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The firm had revenue of $28.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.86 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that VersaBank will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in VersaBank by 2.7% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,915,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,604,000 after acquiring an additional 75,358 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp grew its position in shares of VersaBank by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 1,057,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,392,000 after purchasing an additional 26,559 shares during the last quarter. Curi Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of VersaBank by 5.0% in the second quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 800,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,120,000 after purchasing an additional 38,337 shares during the period. Pembroke Management LTD increased its stake in shares of VersaBank by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 736,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,029,000 after purchasing an additional 213,037 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of VersaBank by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 674,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,101,000 after purchasing an additional 50,900 shares during 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.