Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Wedbush raised their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $64.00. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Ventas traded as high as $57.16 and last traded at $56.97, with a volume of 896362 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.40.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ventas from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 14,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.70, for a total transaction of $697,612.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $597,394.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Peter J. Bulgarelli 668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 14,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.70, for a total value of $697,612.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $597,394.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,270 shares of company stock worth $1,672,966 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ventas by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,812,595 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $987,460,000 after acquiring an additional 120,614 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 7,806,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $345,667,000 after purchasing an additional 802,546 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,864,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $292,273,000 after purchasing an additional 19,643 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 8.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,489,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $239,000,000 after purchasing an additional 413,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth about $231,512,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -293.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.45 and a 200-day moving average of $47.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.74). Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. Ventas’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -947.32%.

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.