Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.48 Per Share

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.48 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

Ventas has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 3.4% per year over the last three years. Ventas has a payout ratio of 315.8% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Ventas to earn $3.39 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.1%.

Ventas Trading Up 8.0 %

Shares of VTR stock traded up $4.79 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $64.73. 4,469,793 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,468,782. The firm has a market cap of $27.16 billion, a PE ratio of -380.75, a PEG 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. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $59.44 and a 200 day moving average of $61.40.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a negative net margin of 1.38% and a negative return on equity of 0.69%. Analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VTR. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.