Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $69.00 to $72.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Ventas traded as high as $69.98 and last traded at $69.66, with a volume of 126631 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.18.

VTR has been the subject of several other reports. Wedbush increased their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.14.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

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

Institutional Trading of Ventas

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $30.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 370.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

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.