Ventas’ (VTR) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Wedbush

Wedbush reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Ventas (NYSE:VTR) in a report published on Thursday,RTT News reports. Wedbush currently has a $75.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on VTR. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.67.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $58.76 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -345.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.36. Ventas has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $67.61.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is -1,058.82%.

Insider Activity

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total transaction of $396,924.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,231,860.87. The trade was a 0.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Ventas by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC grew its position in Ventas by 3.3% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Ventas by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Ventas by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 5,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.