Short Interest in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Grows 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 target 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 daily volume of 3,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 3,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.4 days.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 168,318 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total value of $11,001,264.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,004,271.04. This trade represents a 49.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total transaction of $1,509,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 116,650 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,429.50. This represents a 16.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 334,478 shares of company stock worth $21,813,565. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ventas in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 1,334.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Franchise Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Ventas in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Ventas in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Ventas in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on VTR. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. 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 note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR traded up $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $67.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,323,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,116,585. The firm has a market cap of $30.41 billion, a PE ratio of 156.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.87. Ventas has a 12 month low of $55.24 and a 12 month high of $71.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.96.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 1.78%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. Analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Ventas's payout ratio is 581.82%.

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.

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