Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.20.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VSNT shares. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Versant in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Arete Research raised shares of Versant from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Versant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Versant from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Versant from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Versant Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSNT opened at $37.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.66 and a 200 day moving average of $38.25. Versant has a 52 week low of $27.17 and a 52 week high of $59.00.

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Versant will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Versant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Versant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Versant

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Versant during the 2nd quarter valued at $541,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Versant by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Versant during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,781,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Versant by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Versant during the 2nd quarter valued at about $292,000.

About Versant

Versant is a media and entertainment company formed through the separation of Comcast’s cable-network and digital-media businesses. The company operates a portfolio of television networks and related platforms that provide news, sports, entertainment and lifestyle programming to audiences in the United States and internationally.

Its brands include USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, E!, Syfy, Oxygen and Golf Channel. Versant also has digital and consumer-facing businesses associated with its media portfolio, including Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes and Xumo.