Ventas, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.45 (NYSE:VTR)

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, September 17th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.45 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st.

Ventas has decreased its dividend by an average of 5.6% annually over the last three years. Ventas has a payout ratio of 2,571.4% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Ventas to earn $3.35 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.7%.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE VTR opened at $64.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $26.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -337.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $58.53 and its 200-day moving average is $50.75. Ventas has a 12-month low of $39.33 and a 12-month high of $65.64.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ventas will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ventas from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 $56,529,016.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value of $209,028.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 104,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,761,255.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,065 shares of company stock worth $4,526,464. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.