Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Given New $69.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its price objective raised by analysts at Scotiabank from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price points to a potential upside of 12.07% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on VTR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.63.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $61.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,061,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,410,622. Ventas has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $67.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.83 billion, a PE ratio of -362.36, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $8,022,980.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,291,063.89. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 862.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,932,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $252,160,000 after buying an additional 3,523,594 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Ventas by 105.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,408 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas by 4.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,498,385,000 after purchasing an additional 982,795 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the third 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 buying an additional 599,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Ventas by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,710,426,000 after buying an additional 581,870 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.