Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Price Target to $63.00

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its target price upped by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $52.00 to $63.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 6.11% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Ventas from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.31.

Ventas Price Performance

Ventas stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $59.37. The stock had a trading volume of 3,422,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,320,889. Ventas has a 1-year low of $39.33 and a 1-year high of $59.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -312.47, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $52.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.74). The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. Ventas’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ventas will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 2,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.40, for a total transaction of $103,818.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,259,900.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Ventas news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total transaction of $1,177,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 156,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,207,444.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 2,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.40, for a total value of $103,818.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,031 shares in the company, valued at $1,259,900.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,008 shares of company stock worth $3,786,372 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Ventas in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.