Ventas’ (VTR) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Wedbush restated their outperform rating on shares of Ventas (NYSE:VTR) in a report released on Tuesday morning,RTT News reports. They currently have a $75.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on VTR. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.13.

Ventas Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE VTR opened at $62.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.11 and a 200-day moving average of $58.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Ventas has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $67.61. The firm has a market cap of $26.33 billion, a PE ratio of -369.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.36.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,058.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,004 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total value of $396,924.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,231,860.87. This represents a 0.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,079 shares of company stock worth $9,241,311 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VTR. First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the second quarter valued at $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ventas in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Ventas in the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

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.