Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Ventas (NYSE:VTR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.38.

Ventas Stock Up 0.2 %

VTR stock opened at $67.84 on Friday. Ventas has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $71.04. The company has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a PE ratio of 357.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

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

Ventas Company Profile

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.