Short Interest in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Rises By 1,824.2%

Key Points

• Short interest in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) surged by 1,824.2% in July, reaching a total of 16,960,000 shares, significantly up from 881,400 shares.
• Insider selling included CFO Robert F. Probst and EVP Carey S. Roberts, with Probst selling 168,318 shares, indicating a 49.99% decrease in ownership.
• Ventas maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 2.8%, despite a high payout ratio of 581.82%.

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 16,960,000 shares, agrowthof1,824.2% from the June 30th total of 881,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 3,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VTR shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Ventas Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE VTR traded up $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.32. 660,888 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,119,568. Ventas has a 1 year low of $55.67 and a 1 year high of $71.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 158.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Ventas had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 1.75%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ventas will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is 446.51%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 168,318 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total value of $11,001,264.48. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 14,753 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.60, for a total value of $967,796.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $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 three months, insiders have sold 348,700 shares of company stock worth $22,776,223. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at about $276,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at about $65,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ventas by 40.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,773 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,391,000 after buying an additional 10,091 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at about $579,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Ventas in the 1st quarter worth about $13,321,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Company 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.