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

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

VTR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research raised Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Scotiabank raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.63.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $64.86 on Monday. Ventas has a 1 year low of $40.98 and a 1 year high of $65.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -162.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $62.62 and its 200 day moving average is $54.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ventas news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total value of $1,177,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 156,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,207,444.61. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total transaction of $209,028.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 104,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,761,255.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total transaction of $1,177,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 156,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,207,444.61. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at $135,425,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in Ventas in the second quarter worth about $73,517,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 11.5% in the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 7,806,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $345,667,000 after buying an additional 802,546 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 217.4% during the 2nd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 856,525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $43,905,000 after acquiring an additional 586,676 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Ventas by 1,247.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 496,531 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,452,000 after acquiring an additional 459,689 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Company Profile

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.