Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Ventas, Inc. experienced a significant drop in short interest, declining by 44.7% from 18,170,000 shares to 10,050,000 shares as of September 30th.
• Insider selling occurred on October 1st, with CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli and Debra A. Cafaro selling a total of 12,876 shares, resulting in a 2.15% and 0.89% decrease in their holdings, respectively.
• Ventas announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, representing a yield of 2.7%, and the dividend payout ratio currently stands at 446.51%.

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 10,050,000 shares, a decline of 44.7% from the September 15th total of 18,170,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 2,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Insider Activity

In other Ventas news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 2,554 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.26, for a total transaction of $179,444.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 116,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,184,446.88. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.24, for a total value of $725,017.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,473,616.80. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 69,557 shares of company stock valued at $4,771,687. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at $344,740,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at $359,113,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,796,312 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,533,937,000 after buying an additional 2,854,751 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 32,347,333 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,224,203,000 after buying an additional 2,811,241 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 451.9% during the 2nd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,316,344 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $146,277,000 after buying an additional 1,896,627 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of Ventas stock traded down $1.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $70.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,480,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,526,485. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 163.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.51 and a 200 day moving average of $66.44. Ventas has a 52-week low of $56.68 and a 52-week high of $72.02.

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

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 446.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VTR shares. UBS Group started coverage on Ventas in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Ventas in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Ventas from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.46.

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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