Short Interest in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Drops By 38.7%

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) saw a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,000,000 shares, a decline of 38.7% from the March 15th total of 13,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Ventas Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:VTR traded up $0.16 on Thursday, reaching $67.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,903,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,666,405. Ventas has a 1-year low of $41.70 and a 1-year high of $71.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.53. The firm has a market cap of $29.67 billion, a PE ratio of 356.82, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. 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 (NYSE:VTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 2.83%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VTR shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Argus set a $75.00 price objective on Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Ventas by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 34,593 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 73.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 57,477 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 24,333 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 19,976 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after buying an additional 2,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ventas by 29.1% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,063,000 after buying an additional 7,307 shares during 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.