Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Price Target Raised to $74.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $70.00 to $74.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on VTR. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company 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 research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.71.

Ventas Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $68.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $29.80 billion, a PE ratio of 358.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.08. Ventas has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $68.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. Equities research analysts predict that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,282,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 862.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,932,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $252,160,000 after acquiring an additional 3,523,594 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Ventas by 105.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $347,605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,408 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Ventas by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $365,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rush Island Management LP lifted its holdings in Ventas by 130.6% in the 4th quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,097,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $182,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754,494 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ventas

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.