Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report issued on Monday,Finviz reports. The brokerage presently has a $72.00 target price on the real estate investment trust's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target indicates a potential upside of 15.22% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $62.49 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $65.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 189.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89. Ventas has a fifty-two week low of $49.48 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.36% and a net margin of 2.80%. Ventas's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at $1,750,467.04. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total value of $3,165,794.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $81,413,086.70. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $10,997,929. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VTR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ventas by 3.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,941,561 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,740,422,000 after acquiring an additional 2,440,551 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,811,241 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ventas by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $643,207,000 after purchasing an additional 537,253 shares in the last quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 10.5% in the first quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 7,889,848 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $542,506,000 after purchasing an additional 751,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 4.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,414,404 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $441,056,000 after purchasing an additional 281,232 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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