Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $72.90.

Several research firms recently weighed in on VTR. StockNews.com cut Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th.

Ventas Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $65.88 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Ventas has a 52-week low of $46.66 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The company has a market capitalization of $28.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 346.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $67.53 and a 200 day moving average of $63.96.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ventas will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is currently 581.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,888 shares of company stock valued at $21,536,515. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,282,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Ventas by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $365,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347,705 shares during the period. Rush Island Management LP boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 130.6% during the 4th quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,097,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $182,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754,494 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 1,489.5% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,456,112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $85,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $67,719,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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