Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Initiates Coverage on VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK)

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm issued an outperform rating on the stock.

VersaBank Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:VBNK opened at $13.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $340.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 0.77. VersaBank has a 52 week low of $7.24 and a 52 week high of $13.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $11.43 and a 200 day moving average of $10.75.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33. VersaBank had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 17.02%. The firm had revenue of $21.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.54 million. As a group, analysts expect that VersaBank will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

VersaBank Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th were paid a $0.018 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 5th. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. VersaBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VBNK. Cumberland Partners Ltd acquired a new position in VersaBank in the 1st quarter worth approximately $472,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of VersaBank by 52.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 66,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 22,699 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of VersaBank by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 124,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 92,166 shares during the last quarter. Orchard Capital Management LLC lifted its position in VersaBank by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Orchard Capital Management LLC now owns 330,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in VersaBank by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 347,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 29,982 shares during the last quarter. 56.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About VersaBank

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.