Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.63.

VTR has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR stock opened at $64.48 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.04 billion, a PE ratio of -379.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. Ventas has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $67.61. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Ventas’s payout ratio is -1,058.82%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $8,022,980.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at $65,291,063.89. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,454 shares of company stock valued at $9,263,815 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 13.8% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 198,778 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,748,000 after purchasing an additional 24,086 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. increased its stake in Ventas by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 5,465 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Ventas by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,495 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,892,000 after buying an additional 10,365 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,904,078 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $314,499,000 after buying an additional 231,352 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.