Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research 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 company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $72.90.

Several research analysts have issued reports on VTR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 29,695 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,749,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Ventas by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its position in Ventas by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ventas by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $66.91 on Tuesday. Ventas has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $71.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a PE ratio of 352.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $64.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.10.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.