Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Stock

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $74.00 to $75.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.44% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Argus set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Ventas Stock Down 0.8 %

VTR stock opened at $65.54 on Wednesday. Ventas has a fifty-two week low of $46.66 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 344.95, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s 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. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,888 shares of company stock worth $21,536,515. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ventas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 1,334.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.