Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on VTR. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho lowered their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.67.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $58.76 on Friday. 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 has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $67.61. The company has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -345.63, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.36 and a 200-day moving average of $59.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $8,022,980.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,291,063.89. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,710,426,000 after buying an additional 581,870 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Ventas by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,498,385,000 after purchasing an additional 982,795 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $665,559,000 after purchasing an additional 245,922 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Ventas by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,931,538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $304,047,000 after purchasing an additional 96,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 105.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,605,000 after buying an additional 2,778,408 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

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.