VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday. The stock had previously closed at $22.95, but opened at $24.64. VersaBank shares last traded at $24.7290, with a volume of 14,365 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on VBNK. Roth Capital increased their price objective on shares of VersaBank from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 target price on shares of VersaBank in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of VersaBank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VersaBank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

VersaBank Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $785.04 million, a P/E ratio of 31.72 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.95.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.07). VersaBank had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 8.66%. The business had revenue of $27.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.76 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that VersaBank will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VersaBank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th were given a C$0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. VersaBank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VersaBank

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VBNK. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of VersaBank by 17.1% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 219,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,796,000 after acquiring an additional 32,070 shares during the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. bought a new stake in VersaBank in the third quarter worth $1,434,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of VersaBank during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,171,000. Brasada Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of VersaBank during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,606,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in VersaBank in the second quarter worth $1,133,000. 56.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VersaBank Company Profile

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) is a Canadian digital bank that provides commercial banking and financial technology services. The bank operates primarily through a highly automated, branchless model and focuses on serving niche markets that can be efficiently supported through technology and relationships with intermediaries.

VersaBank offers deposit products and lending solutions to businesses and other organizations. Its activities include commercial loans, point-of-sale financing and other forms of specialty lending, with loan origination often conducted through financial technology companies, retailers and other third-party partners.