Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $71.12 and last traded at $69.98, with a volume of 405451 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $28.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 345.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.40.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS 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, research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $2,852,589.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $78,622,918.44. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VTR. Presima Securities ULC boosted its position in Ventas by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 439,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,908,000 after purchasing an additional 121,193 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 39,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,341,000 after buying an additional 12,969 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 726.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,267 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 4,630 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ventas by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,028,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $296,100,000 after buying an additional 123,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Ventas by 2.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,767,261,000 after acquiring an additional 599,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% 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.