VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $25.05 and last traded at $19.90, with a volume of 93623 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of VersaBank in a report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded VersaBank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised VersaBank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, VersaBank currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

VersaBank Stock Up 1.1%

The firm has a market cap of $632.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $17.88 and a 200 day moving average of $15.96.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 3rd. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $28.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.86 million. VersaBank had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 9.34%. As a group, analysts predict that VersaBank will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VersaBank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. VersaBank’s payout ratio is 10.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in VersaBank by 2.7% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,915,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,604,000 after purchasing an additional 75,358 shares in the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Curi Capital LLC grew its position in VersaBank by 5.0% in the second 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 last quarter. Pembroke Management LTD grew its position in VersaBank by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 736,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,029,000 after acquiring an additional 213,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. grew its position in VersaBank by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 674,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,101,000 after acquiring 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.