Contrasting Versant (VSNT) and Its Peers

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

39.0% of shares of all “Media” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Versant shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.8% of shares of all “Media” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Versant and its peers’ 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	-19.88%	-49.41%	-5.25%

Dividends

Versant pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Versant pays out 43.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Media” companies pay a dividend yield of 5.2% and pay out 172.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Versant	$6.69 billion	$930.00 million	11.39
Versant Competitors	$2.96 billion	-$23.60 million	19.59

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Versant and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Versant	0	6	1	1	2.38
Versant Competitors	2208	6828	10794	469	2.47

Versant currently has a consensus price target of $43.20, indicating a potential upside of 8.95%. As a group, “Media” companies have a potential upside of 16.14%. Given Versant’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Versant has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

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.