Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Short Interest Down 18.2% in October

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,340,000 shares, a drop of 18.2% from the September 30th total of 10,200,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VTR shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total transaction of $1,177,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 156,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,207,444.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total transaction of $1,177,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 156,403 shares in the company, valued at $9,207,444.61. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total value of $396,924.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,231,860.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,069 shares of company stock worth $4,923,389. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,005,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ventas by 11.5% in the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 7,806,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $345,667,000 after purchasing an additional 802,546 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at $819,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 1st quarter worth about $11,749,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 386.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 231,643 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,086,000 after acquiring an additional 184,065 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Trading Up 0.7 %

Ventas stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $66.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,486,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,379,725. The stock has a market cap of $27.47 billion, a PE ratio of -166.22, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Ventas has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $66.98.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.74). The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ventas will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -449.99%.

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.