Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the nine brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.71.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VTR. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Performance

Ventas stock opened at $68.18 on Friday. Ventas has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $68.52. The company has a market capitalization of $29.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 358.84, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ventas will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

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.