Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.67.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ventas from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $8,022,980.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at $65,291,063.89. The trade was a 10.94 % 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 hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 29,933 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,299 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,767,261,000 after purchasing an additional 599,600 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Ventas by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,252,460 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,070,000 after buying an additional 128,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in Ventas by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 12,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $56.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $23.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -334.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.99 and its 200-day moving average is $60.08. Ventas has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $67.61.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,058.82%.

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.