Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.45

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, September 17th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.45 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st.

Ventas has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 5.6% annually over the last three years. Ventas has a payout ratio of 2,250.0% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Ventas to earn $3.35 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.7%.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE:VTR opened at $63.84 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.72. 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 $39.33 and a twelve month high of $65.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -335.98, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on VTR shares. 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 target on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Ventas from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,767.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total transaction of $209,028.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,761,255.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464. Company insiders own 1.00% 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.