Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Short Interest Down 18.2% in October

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,340,000 shares, a decrease of 18.2% from the September 30th total of 10,200,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on VTR. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wolfe Research raised Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.63.

Ventas Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $64.97 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.06 and a 200-day moving average of $54.70. Ventas has a 12 month low of $40.98 and a 12 month high of $66.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -449.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total value of $1,177,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 156,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,207,444.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total value of $1,177,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 156,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,207,444.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value of $209,028.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 104,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,761,255.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the first quarter worth $1,005,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $345,667,000 after purchasing an additional 802,546 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ventas in the first quarter valued at about $819,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the first quarter valued at about $11,749,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 386.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 231,643 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,086,000 after purchasing an additional 184,065 shares during the last quarter. 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.