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

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $88.41 and last traded at $87.47, with a volume of 799307 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $87.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus set a $88.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ventas from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Ventas from $80.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.47.

Ventas Stock Up 0.6%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $84.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.98. The company has a market capitalization of $41.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.01). Ventas had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 2.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ventas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.820-3.890 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 385.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 35,532 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $3,020,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 72,755 shares in the company, valued at $6,184,175. This represents a 32.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.66, for a total value of $801,606.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,114,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,515,880.44. The trade was a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VTR. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ventas by 856.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 7,097 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Ventas by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Ventas by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,532,000 after purchasing an additional 11,739 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Ventas by 130.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 12,233 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $805,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ventas

Ventas, Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in healthcare-related real estate. The company acquires, owns and manages a diversified portfolio of properties serving the healthcare continuum, including senior housing communities, skilled nursing facilities, medical office buildings, life science and research centers, and other properties leased to healthcare providers and operators. Ventas generates revenue through long-term leases, property management and selective development activities focused on meeting the real estate needs of the healthcare sector.

Ventas’ business model combines property ownership with active asset management and capital markets activity.