Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas (NYSE:VTR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

VTR has been the topic of several other research reports. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.63.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $64.19 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $63.70 and a 200-day moving average of $55.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a PE ratio of -377.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.36. Ventas has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $67.61.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Ventas had a negative return on equity of 0.69% and a negative net margin of 1.38%. Ventas’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ventas will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,058.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total value of $2,296,125.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,529,016.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total value of $2,296,125.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.20, for a total transaction of $431,466.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at $62,360,514.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 200,533 shares of company stock valued at $12,737,341 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Ventas by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.3% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.7% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Ventas by 3.9% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its stake in Ventas by 4.5% in the third quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 5,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Company Profile

Ventas Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments.