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

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $63.63.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $8,022,980.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,291,063.89. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,767.05. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,454 shares of company stock worth $9,263,815. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VTR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Ventas by 862.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,932,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $252,160,000 after buying an additional 3,523,594 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 105.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,408 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,517,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,498,385,000 after purchasing an additional 982,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Trading Up 0.2 %

VTR opened at $63.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -374.10, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.36. Ventas has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $64.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.96.

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 given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently -1,058.76%.

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.