Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Given New $78.00 Price Target at Wedbush

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its price objective increased by Wedbush from $69.00 to $78.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.14.

Ventas Trading Up 2.5 %

Ventas stock opened at $66.57 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $59.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.42. Ventas has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $67.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a negative net margin of 1.38% and a negative return on equity of 0.69%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ventas will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently -1,058.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other 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.