Critical Analysis: Versant (VSNT) and Its Rivals

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT) is one of 259 publicly-traded companies in the “Media” industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Versant to similar businesses based on the strength of its valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Versant and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Versant	N/A	N/A	N/A
Versant Competitors	-20.10%	-48.67%	-5.13%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

38.8% of shares of all “Media” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Versant shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.5% of shares of all “Media” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Versant pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Versant pays out 43.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Media” companies pay a dividend yield of 5.3% and pay out 104.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Versant and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Versant	$6.69 billion	$930.00 million	11.09
Versant Competitors	$3.02 billion	-$7.90 million	17.78

Versant has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Versant is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Versant and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Versant	0	7	1	0	2.12
Versant Competitors	2243	6861	10818	475	2.47

Versant currently has a consensus target price of $43.20, suggesting a potential upside of 11.89%. As a group, “Media” companies have a potential upside of 21.88%. Given Versant’s rivals stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Versant has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Summary

Versant rivals beat Versant on 8 of the 14 factors compared.

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. In addition to its product offerings, to assist users in their development and deployment of applications based on the Versant Object Database, FastObjects and db4o, it offers related professional services.