Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Versant carries a consensus “Hold” rating from 10 analysts: six holds, two buys, one strong buy and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $42.29.
• Shares opened at $31.43, with a market capitalization of $4.36 billion and a 12-month trading range of $27.17 to $59.00.
• Versant exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.49 per share versus a $1.39 consensus estimate, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.375, equivalent to a 4.8% yield.

Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the ten research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.29.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup began coverage on Versant in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $41.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Versant from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Versant in a report on Friday, September 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Versant from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Versant from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Versant

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Versant by 253.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 951 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the period. Citizens National Bank Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Versant in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Versant in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Versant during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000.

Versant Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSNT opened at $31.43 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.36 billion and a P/E ratio of 9.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Versant has a 12-month low of $27.17 and a 12-month high of $59.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.69.

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter. Analysts predict that Versant will post 4.10 earnings per share for the current year.

Versant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st were given a $0.3750 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Versant's payout ratio is 43.10%.

Versant Company Profile

Versant, Inc NASDAQ: VSNT is a media and entertainment company formed from selected cable television and digital assets formerly owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal division. The company develops, produces, distributes and markets entertainment, news, sports and lifestyle content across television networks and digital platforms.

Versant's portfolio includes USA Network, E!, SYFY, Oxygen, Golf Channel and related digital properties. Its assets also include Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, which provide movie-ticketing, entertainment information and media-review services.

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