Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

VTR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush upped their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.63.

Ventas Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE VTR traded down $0.88 during trading on Monday, hitting $64.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,504,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,388,561. The company has a market capitalization of $26.72 billion, a PE ratio of -161.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. Ventas has a 12 month low of $40.98 and a 12 month high of $65.64.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.74). Ventas had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 3.33%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ventas will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total value of $2,296,125.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,529,016.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ventas news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,767.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total value of $2,296,125.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VTR. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 405.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 171,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,532,000 after purchasing an additional 137,327 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 64.4% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,649 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,820 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter worth $3,813,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. 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.