Dark Forest Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP has made a new investment of approximately $3.42 million in Ventas, Inc., acquiring 49,765 shares in the first quarter.
• Ventas, Inc. reported a quarterly EPS of $0.87, surpassing estimates, and experienced an 18.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Institutional ownership is high, with 94.18% of Ventas shares held by hedge funds and institutional investors.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 49,765 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $3,422,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VTR. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Ventas by 1,334.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Ventas during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Ventas during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in Ventas during the first quarter valued at $41,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of Ventas stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,688,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,312,876. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.26. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.68 and a 12-month high of $71.36. The company has a market cap of $30.85 billion, a PE ratio of 157.87, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.75% and a net margin of 3.61%.The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.410-3.46 EPS. Analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,691 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total value of $2,033,536.59. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,531,250.36. The trade was a 14.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.80, for a total value of $699,831.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $77,678,121. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 276,788 shares of company stock worth $18,279,081 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $78.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.36.

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.