Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Ventas (NYSE:VTR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat reports.

VTR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho cut 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.38.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR opened at $67.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 357.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.15 and a 200 day moving average of $62.67. Ventas has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $71.04.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 29,695 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

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.