VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Short Interest Update

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in 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. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 43,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VersaBank

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of VersaBank by 17.5% in the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 408,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,321,000 after purchasing an additional 60,881 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in VersaBank by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 100,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 34,462 shares in the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp increased its position in shares of VersaBank by 6.1% during the second quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 84,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after acquiring an additional 4,817 shares during the period. ELCO Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VersaBank by 4.1% in the second quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 82,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 3,234 shares during the period. Finally, Pembroke Management LTD grew its stake in VersaBank by 45.2% in the third quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 50,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

VersaBank Stock Up 1.5 %

VersaBank stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $16.50. 9,877 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 28,637. VersaBank has a 12 month low of $7.52 and a 12 month high of $17.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.22 and its 200-day moving average is $12.10. The stock has a market cap of $428.51 million, a P/E ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.76.

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

VersaBank Dividend Announcement

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

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.