JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Stock

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.60% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on VTR. Scotiabank upped their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho cut their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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 raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Argus raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.38.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $67.84 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.64. The company has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a PE ratio of 357.09, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Ventas has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly 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%. Analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VTR. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Ventas by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 20,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of Ventas by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 5,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 74.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 1,388 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,006 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 50.7% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 89,472 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,738,000 after buying an additional 30,120 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.