Versigent (NYSE:VGNT) Stock Bumped Down to Strong Sell by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Versigent (NYSE:VGNT) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Thursday,Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Argus upped their price target on Versigent from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Versigent from $48.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Versigent in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of Versigent in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Versigent from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Versigent currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Versigent Stock Up 1.1%

VGNT stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $44.17. 794,704 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 772,663. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 billion and a PE ratio of 23.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.29. Versigent has a fifty-two week low of $26.34 and a fifty-two week high of $50.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.33.

Versigent (NYSE:VGNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Versigent will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Versigent Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Versigent news, Director Kevin Clark sold 74,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.67, for a total value of $3,385,517.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 124,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,853.83. This trade represents a 37.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 220,000 shares of company stock worth $10,065,848 over the last three months.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Versigent during the 2nd quarter worth $20,602,000. HBK Investments L P bought a new stake in Versigent in the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,439,000. Steamboat Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Versigent in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,385,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Versigent during the second quarter valued at about $8,397,000. Finally, Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Versigent during the second quarter valued at about $5,400,000.

Versigent Company Profile

Versigent PLC is involved in the design, manufacturing and delivery of low and high voltage power electrical architectures. Versigent PLC is based in SCHAFFHAUSEN, Switzerland.