VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) saw a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 79,000 shares, an increase of 31.2% from the December 31st total of 60,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 99,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VersaBank

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in VersaBank by 44.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 50,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 15,462 shares during the period. Pembroke Management LTD lifted its stake in shares of VersaBank by 45.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 50,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares during the period. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of VersaBank during the 3rd quarter valued at about $137,000. K2 Principal Fund L.P. bought a new stake in VersaBank in the third quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Barclays PLC acquired a new position in VersaBank in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 56.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective (up from $15.00) on shares of VersaBank in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

VersaBank Trading Up 1.0 %

VersaBank stock opened at $13.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $436.15 million, a PE ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.93. VersaBank has a 12 month low of $9.48 and a 12 month high of $18.38.

VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. VersaBank had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 13.52%. As a group, analysts predict that VersaBank will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VersaBank Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.0177 per share. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. VersaBank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.36%.

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.