VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.2667.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VBNK. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VersaBank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of VersaBank in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of VersaBank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 6th.

VersaBank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VBNK opened at $11.60 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $370.62 million, a PE ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 0.97. VersaBank has a fifty-two week low of $8.51 and a fifty-two week high of $18.38.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.02. VersaBank had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 9.56%.The firm had revenue of $22.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.01 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that VersaBank will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VersaBank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. VersaBank’s payout ratio is currently 10.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pembroke Management LTD lifted its holdings in shares of VersaBank by 1.4% during the first quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 337,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,495,000 after purchasing an additional 4,581 shares during the period. Salzhauer Michael increased its stake in VersaBank by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 21,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 4,600 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in VersaBank by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 20,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 5,144 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VersaBank by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 148,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,804,000 after acquiring an additional 8,080 shares during the period. Finally, Militia Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of VersaBank by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 70,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.86% of the company’s stock.

About VersaBank

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.