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

Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.80.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Versant from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Versant from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Versant from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Versant in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Versant in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company.

Versant Price Performance

Shares of VSNT opened at $35.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.99 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.73 and a 200-day moving average of $36.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Versant has a 52 week low of $27.17 and a 52 week high of $59.00.

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts forecast that Versant will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

Versant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. Versant’s payout ratio is presently 75.38%.

Institutional Trading of Versant

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VSNT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Versant in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,747,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Versant during the 1st quarter worth $26,331,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Versant during the 1st quarter worth $25,317,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Versant during the 1st quarter worth $24,475,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Versant in the fourth quarter worth $24,134,000.

About Versant

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.