Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.40.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VSNT. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Versant from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Versant in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Versant from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Zacks Research lowered Versant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Versant in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald L. Hassell acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $36.07 per share, with a total value of $360,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 12,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $457,367.60. This represents a 373.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Aaron Conway acquired 1,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $36.14 per share, for a total transaction of $48,789.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,729.92. The trade was a 56.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought 154,350 shares of company stock valued at $5,679,039 over the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Versant

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in Versant in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Versant during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Versant during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Versant during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in shares of Versant in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000.

Versant Stock Performance

Shares of VSNT opened at $43.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion and a PE ratio of 21.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 2.32. Versant has a fifty-two week low of $27.17 and a fifty-two week high of $59.00.

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Versant will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Versant Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 1st. Versant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.38%.

Versant Company Profile

Versant Corporation is a provider of data management software. The Company designs, develops, markets and supports database management system products that companies use to solve data management and data integration issues. It also provides related product support, training and consulting services to assist users of the Company’s products in developing and deploying software applications based on its products. The Company’s Versant Object Database product is used primarily by enterprises, which have data management requirements, such as technology providers, telecommunications carriers, Government defense agencies, defense contractors, healthcare companies and companies in the financial services and transportation industries.