Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) traded down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $62.68 and last traded at $62.73. 508,047 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 2,334,393 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VTR. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.90.

Ventas Stock Down 0.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $58.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -327.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.74). Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Ventas’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -947.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 156,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,207,444.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total transaction of $2,296,125.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at $56,529,016.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 156,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,207,444.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 2nd quarter worth about $135,425,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in Ventas during the second quarter worth approximately $73,517,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 7,806,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $345,667,000 after purchasing an additional 802,546 shares during the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 65.6% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,486,572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $74,091,000 after buying an additional 588,818 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its holdings 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 worth $43,905,000 after buying an additional 586,676 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.