Rose Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Versant Corporation $VSNT

Key Points

• Rose Capital Advisors acquired 34,683 shares of Versant worth approximately $1.25 million, joining several other institutional investors that recently initiated positions.
• Analysts remain cautious: Versant has a consensus “Hold” rating from MarketBeat, with an average price target of $43.20 versus a recent share price of $38.61.
• Versant exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.49 in EPS versus $1.39 forecast, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, representing a 3.9% annualized yield.

Rose Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 34,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,249,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VSNT. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Versant in the fourth quarter valued at about $795,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Versant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $646,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Versant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Barclays PLC acquired a new position in shares of Versant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $112,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new position in shares of Versant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,460,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Versant in a report on Monday, May 18th. Arete Research raised Versant from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Versant from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Versant from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Versant in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.20.

Versant Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:VSNT opened at $38.61 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $37.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Versant Corporation has a 12-month low of $27.17 and a 12-month high of $59.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.36 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09.

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Versant Corporation will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Versant Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Versant's dividend payout ratio is 43.10%.

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.

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