Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 104,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,442,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VBNK. Barclays PLC bought a new stake in shares of VersaBank in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of VersaBank in the fourth quarter worth approximately $273,000. Salzhauer Michael acquired a new position in shares of VersaBank in the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,000. Pembroke Management LTD boosted its holdings in VersaBank by 554.2% in the fourth quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 332,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,609,000 after acquiring an additional 281,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. acquired a new stake in VersaBank during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,155,000. 56.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Roth Capital set a $10.40 price objective on shares of VersaBank in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of VersaBank in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered VersaBank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $10.40 in a research report on Thursday, March 6th.

VersaBank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VBNK opened at $11.26 on Friday. VersaBank has a 52-week low of $8.51 and a 52-week high of $18.38. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.29. The firm has a market cap of $366.16 million, a P/E ratio of 10.24 and a beta of 1.01.

VersaBank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a $0.025 dividend. This is a boost from VersaBank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. VersaBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.38%.

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.