VersaBank (VBNK) Competitors

VersaBank (TSE:VBNK) and Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSE:LB) are both small-cap financial services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, community ranking, profitability and institutional ownership.

Does the media refer more to VBNK or LB?

In the previous week, Laurentian Bank of Canada had 4 more articles in the media than VersaBank. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Laurentian Bank of Canada and 0 mentions for VersaBank. Laurentian Bank of Canada's average media sentiment score of 0.73 beat VersaBank's score of 0.00 indicating that Laurentian Bank of Canada is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
VersaBank	Neutral
Laurentian Bank of Canada	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in VBNK or LB?

Laurentian Bank of Canada received 362 more outperform votes than VersaBank when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 100.00% of users gave VersaBank an outperform vote while only 41.72% of users gave Laurentian Bank of Canada an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
VersaBank	Outperform Votes 1 100.00%	Underperform Votes No Votes
Laurentian Bank of Canada	Outperform Votes 363 41.72%	Underperform Votes 507 58.28%

Do analysts recommend VBNK or LB?

Laurentian Bank of Canada has a consensus price target of C$29.01, indicating a potential upside of 6.37%. Given Laurentian Bank of Canada's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Laurentian Bank of Canada is more favorable than VersaBank.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
VersaBank	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	N/A
Laurentian Bank of Canada	3 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.86

Do institutionals and insiders believe in VBNK or LB?

26.9% of VersaBank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.6% of Laurentian Bank of Canada shares are held by institutional investors. 45.2% of VersaBank shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Laurentian Bank of Canada shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is VBNK or LB a better dividend stock?

VersaBank pays an annual dividend of C$0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Laurentian Bank of Canada pays an annual dividend of C$1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.9%. VersaBank pays out 5.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Laurentian Bank of Canada pays out 53.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Which has more risk & volatility, VBNK or LB?

VersaBank has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Laurentian Bank of Canada has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is VBNK or LB more profitable?

VersaBank has a net margin of 40.77% compared to Laurentian Bank of Canada's net margin of 17.33%. VersaBank's return on equity of 12.28% beat Laurentian Bank of Canada's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
VersaBank	40.77%	12.28%	1.16%
Laurentian Bank of Canada	17.33%	5.84%	0.34%

Which has higher valuation and earnings, VBNK or LB?

Laurentian Bank of Canada has higher revenue and earnings than VersaBank. VersaBank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Laurentian Bank of Canada, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
VersaBank	C$111.47M	3.04	C$44.46M	C$1.71	7.64
Laurentian Bank of Canada	C$960.71M	1.24	C$154.68M	C$3.55	7.68

Summary

Laurentian Bank of Canada beats VersaBank on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.