VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK)’s share price 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 traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VBNK shares. Zacks Research lowered VersaBank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VersaBank in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 target price on VersaBank in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Roth Capital boosted their price target on VersaBank from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

VersaBank Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $725.13 million, a PE ratio of 29.53 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.44 and a 200 day moving average of $18.18.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 3rd. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $27.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.76 million. VersaBank had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 8.66%. As a group, equities analysts predict that VersaBank will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

VersaBank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. VersaBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.21%.

Institutional Trading of VersaBank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salzhauer Michael lifted its stake in VersaBank by 68.4% in the 2nd quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 16,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 6,843 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of VersaBank during the 3rd quarter valued at about $198,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of VersaBank during the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of VersaBank by 33.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 20,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 5,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, K2 Principal Fund L.P. bought a new stake in shares of VersaBank in the second quarter worth about $239,000. 56.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.