VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Short Interest Up 59.6% in March

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 94,000 shares, an increase of 59.6% from the February 28th total of 58,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 103,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VersaBank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VBNK. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in VersaBank in the third quarter worth $32,000. Salzhauer Michael purchased a new position in VersaBank in the 4th quarter worth about $137,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in VersaBank during the 3rd quarter valued at about $137,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in VersaBank during the 4th quarter valued at about $159,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in VersaBank in the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. 56.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VBNK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of VersaBank in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Mkm cut shares of VersaBank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $22.00 to $10.40 in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $10.40 price target on VersaBank in a research report on Thursday, March 6th.

VersaBank Trading Down 1.2 %

VBNK stock opened at $9.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $321.94 million, a PE ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.93. VersaBank has a 12 month low of $9.48 and a 12 month high of $18.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.89.

VersaBank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. This is a boost from VersaBank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. VersaBank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.38%.

VersaBank Company Profile

VersaBank provides various banking products and services in Canada and the United States. It offers deposit products, such as web-based chequing accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, registered retirement savings plans, and tax-free savings accounts, as well as deposit insurance products. The company also provides lending services, including point of sale financing that covers purchasing loan and lease receivables from finance companies operating in various industries; commercial banking services comprising commercial real estate, public sector/infrastructure financing, and condominium financing; and residential mortgages.