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

Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $72.20.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VTR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Ventas Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of VTR opened at $68.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Ventas has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $71.04. The firm has a market cap of $30.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 362.04, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $63.21 and its 200-day moving average is $62.96.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ventas will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. 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’s payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Ventas by 7.9% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 332,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,310,000 after purchasing an additional 24,300 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 480.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 26,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 21,700 shares in the last quarter. Presima Securities ULC increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 439,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,908,000 after acquiring an additional 121,193 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,904,078 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $314,499,000 after acquiring an additional 231,352 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Ventas by 3.5% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 302,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,428,000 after acquiring an additional 10,134 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.