Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.83 EPS

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83, Zacks reports. Ventas had a negative net margin of 1.38% and a negative return on equity of 0.69%.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $0.41 on Wednesday, hitting $59.98. The company had a trading volume of 3,215,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,395,952. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $25.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -352.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $67.61.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,058.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised 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 research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $68.71.

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.