Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT) Upgraded to “Neutral” at Arete Research

Arete Research upgraded shares of Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $40.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on VSNT. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Versant from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Versant in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Versant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Versant from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Versant in a research note 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 issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.80.

Versant Trading Down 1.2%

VSNT stock opened at $35.90 on Friday. Versant has a 1-year low of $27.17 and a 1-year high of $59.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.33.

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that Versant will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Versant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. Versant’s payout ratio is presently 75.38%.

Institutional Trading of Versant

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Versant in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $24,134,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Versant during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $795,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new position in Versant during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,230,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Versant in the first quarter worth $1,127,000. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new position in shares of Versant in the first quarter worth $1,052,000.

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.