Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas (NYSE:VTR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on VTR. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.63.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE:VTR traded down $1.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $64.19. The stock had a trading volume of 2,883,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,163,413. Ventas has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $67.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -377.57, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.74). The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Ventas had a negative net margin of 1.38% and a negative return on equity of 0.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,058.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,291,063.89. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $8,022,980.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,291,063.89. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total transaction of $2,296,125.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 200,533 shares of company stock valued at $12,737,341. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Ventas by 2.1% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Ventas by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Ventas by 3.9% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its position in Ventas by 4.5% during the third quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 5,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.