Analysts Set Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) PT at $72.90

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.90.

Several brokerages have recently commented on VTR. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $62.89. 5,496,040 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,879,674. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.85 and a 200-day moving average of $63.98. Ventas has a one year low of $50.38 and a one year high of $71.36. The firm has a market cap of $28.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 190.56, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.36% and a net margin of 2.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ventas will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 581.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total value of $93,025.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,750,467.04. The trade was a 5.05% 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 9,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total value of $601,624.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,661,697.80. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 165,586 shares of company stock worth $10,997,929. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 94.18% 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.