Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.45

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, December 10th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.45 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, January 16th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%.

Ventas has decreased its dividend by an average of 5.6% annually over the last three years. Ventas has a dividend payout ratio of 750.0% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Ventas to earn $3.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.4%.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $61.15. 1,980,638 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,409,219. Ventas has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $67.61. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.71. The firm has a market cap of $25.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -359.68, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.63.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total value of $396,924.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,231,860.87. This represents a 0.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.