Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on VTR. Argus set a $75.00 price objective on Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.00.

Ventas Price Performance

Ventas stock opened at $65.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Ventas has a 52 week low of $46.66 and a 52 week high of $71.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 346.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $66.96 and a 200-day moving average of $63.96.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Ventas’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total value of $93,025.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,750,467.04. The trade was a 5.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total value of $601,624.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,661,697.80. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 311,481 shares of company stock worth $21,385,983. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at about $340,282,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at about $359,113,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 32,347,333 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,224,203,000 after purchasing an additional 2,811,241 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,941,561 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,740,422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $365,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,705 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.