VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $20.59, but opened at $22.40. VersaBank shares last traded at $22.3150, with a volume of 12,023 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VBNK. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VersaBank in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 target price on VersaBank in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Roth Capital upped 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. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of VersaBank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Two analysts have 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, VersaBank presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

VersaBank Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $701.56 million, a P/E ratio of 28.55 and a beta of 1.06.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that VersaBank will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VersaBank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. VersaBank’s payout ratio is currently 9.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VersaBank

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VBNK. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position 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 buying an additional 75,358 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in shares of VersaBank during the 2nd quarter worth $26,781,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp boosted its stake in shares of VersaBank by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 1,057,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,392,000 after acquiring an additional 26,559 shares during the last quarter. Curi Capital LLC grew its position in shares of VersaBank by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 800,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,120,000 after acquiring an additional 38,337 shares during the period. Finally, Pembroke Management LTD increased its stake in shares of VersaBank by 40.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.