VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on VBNK. Roth Capital raised shares of VersaBank from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered VersaBank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $25.00.

VersaBank Stock Performance

Shares of VBNK stock opened at $20.76 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $668.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09 and a beta of 1.04. VersaBank has a 52 week low of $10.10 and a 52 week high of $25.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.21.

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

VersaBank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. VersaBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.14%.

Institutional Trading of VersaBank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Salzhauer Michael lifted its stake in shares of VersaBank by 68.4% during the 2nd quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 16,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 6,843 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VersaBank in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $198,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in VersaBank in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $201,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in VersaBank by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 20,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 5,144 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in VersaBank during the 2nd quarter valued at $293,000. Institutional investors 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.