Short Interest in VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Declines By 27.7%

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,900 shares, a drop of 27.7% from the October 15th total of 30,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 43,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm began coverage on VersaBank in a report on Friday, September 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on VersaBank in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (up from $15.00) on shares of VersaBank in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded VersaBank to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, VersaBank presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $19.00.

VersaBank Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ VBNK opened at $16.52 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $14.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.13. The firm has a market cap of $428.96 million, a P/E ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.76. VersaBank has a 52 week low of $7.52 and a 52 week high of $17.06.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.08). VersaBank had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company had revenue of $19.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.83 million. As a group, research analysts expect that VersaBank will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

VersaBank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.018 dividend. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. VersaBank’s payout ratio is presently 5.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of VersaBank by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 408,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,321,000 after buying an additional 60,881 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VersaBank by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 100,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 34,462 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp raised its stake in shares of VersaBank by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 84,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 4,817 shares during the period. ELCO Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of VersaBank by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 82,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 3,234 shares during the period. Finally, Pembroke Management LTD raised its stake in shares of VersaBank by 45.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 50,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 15,834 shares during the period. 56.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.