Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas (NYSE:VTR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on VTR. Scotiabank upped their price target on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.67.

Ventas Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE VTR opened at $58.76 on Friday. Ventas has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $67.61. The company has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -345.63, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Ventas’s payout ratio is -1,058.82%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $8,022,980.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at $65,291,063.89. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in Ventas by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,710,426,000 after purchasing an additional 581,870 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,498,385,000 after buying an additional 982,795 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ventas by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $665,559,000 after buying an additional 245,922 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Ventas by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,931,538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $304,047,000 after acquiring an additional 96,482 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Ventas by 105.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $347,605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,408 shares during 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.