Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Analysts

Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

A number of brokerages recently commented on VSNT. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Versant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Versant in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Arete Research upgraded Versant from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Versant from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Versant from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Versant Stock Performance

Shares of Versant stock opened at $31.44 on Thursday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.11. Versant has a 52 week low of $27.17 and a 52 week high of $59.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion and a PE ratio of 9.03.

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Versant will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Versant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a $0.3750 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Versant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.10%.

Institutional Trading of Versant

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Versant by 110.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 70,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,545,000 after acquiring an additional 37,028 shares during the period. State Street Corp purchased a new stake in Versant in the second quarter valued at $171,182,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Versant during the 2nd quarter worth about $541,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Versant during the second quarter valued at $2,781,000.

About Versant

Versant, Inc is a media and entertainment company formed through the separation of certain cable television and digital media assets from Comcast. The company operates a portfolio of entertainment, news, sports and lifestyle brands serving audiences in the United States and internationally through television networks, digital platforms and related content services.

Versant’s portfolio includes USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, along with digital properties such as Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes.