Zacks Research Upgrades VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) to “Strong-Buy”

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

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

VersaBank Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of VBNK stock opened at $20.76 on Monday. VersaBank has a 12 month low of $10.10 and a 12 month high of $25.05. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.21. The firm has a market cap of $668.47 million, a PE ratio of 30.09 and a beta of 1.04.

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 business had revenue of $28.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.86 million. On average, equities analysts predict that VersaBank will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VersaBank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VBNK. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in VersaBank by 107.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 56,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 29,169 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VersaBank in the second quarter valued at approximately $293,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of VersaBank by 33.0% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 20,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 5,144 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of VersaBank by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,840,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,383,000 after acquiring an additional 29,613 shares during the period. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp boosted its stake in shares of VersaBank by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 1,052,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,000,000 after acquiring an additional 40,127 shares during the period. 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.