Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Buys New Position in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Key Points

• Nicola Wealth Management LTD. made a new investment in Ventas, Inc. by purchasing 17,000 shares valued at approximately $1.17 million in the first quarter of the year.
• Ventas, Inc. reported earnings of $0.87 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates and showing an 18.3% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• Wall Street analysts have a positive outlook on Ventas, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.36 for the stock.

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 17,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,169,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,440 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Ventas by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,674 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its stake in Ventas by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 28,574 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Ventas by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,313 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 168,318 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $11,001,264.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,004,271.04. This represents a 49.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 14,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.60, for a total value of $967,796.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,157,592. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 276,788 shares of company stock valued at $18,279,081. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ventas Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE VTR traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.72. 1,758,466 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,264,455. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 162.15, a PEG ratio of 2.57 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $56.68 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The company's 50-day moving average is $67.18 and its 200-day moving average is $66.30.

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

Ventas Profile

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.