Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Price Target Increased to $65.00 by Analysts at Scotiabank

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its price objective increased by Scotiabank from $59.00 to $65.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on VTR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ventas from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $63.63.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $62.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.48 billion, a PE ratio of -331.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. Ventas has a twelve month low of $40.98 and a twelve month high of $65.64.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.74). Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Ventas’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -947.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,529,016.93. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,529,016.93. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 directly owns 156,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,207,444.61. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Ventas by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 7,806,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $345,667,000 after buying an additional 802,546 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Ventas by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,931,538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $304,047,000 after buying an additional 96,482 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,489,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $239,000,000 after purchasing an additional 413,564 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $135,425,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,756,752 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $90,051,000 after purchasing an additional 7,585 shares in the last quarter. 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.