Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.67.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $57.40 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $24.08 billion, a PE ratio of -337.63, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $61.36 and its 200 day moving average is $60.14. Ventas has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $67.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $8,022,980.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,291,063.89. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $549,000. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 119.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 10,571 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 5,752 shares during the period. Choreo LLC bought a new position in Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at $383,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Ventas by 4.7% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 164,984 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,383,000 after purchasing an additional 7,378 shares during the period. Finally, Andra AP fonden lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 29.1% during the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 168,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,627,000 after purchasing an additional 37,900 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.