Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.63.

Ventas Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Ventas stock traded down $1.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $64.19. The stock had a trading volume of 2,883,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,393,240. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -377.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.36. Ventas has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $67.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.32.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.74). Ventas had a negative net margin of 1.38% and a negative return on equity of 0.70%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total transaction of $2,296,125.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total transaction of $2,296,125.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.20, for a total value of $431,466.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,360,514.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 200,533 shares of company stock valued at $12,737,341 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VTR. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,005,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ventas by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 7,806,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $345,667,000 after purchasing an additional 802,546 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 1st quarter worth $819,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the first quarter valued at $11,749,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 386.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 231,643 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,086,000 after buying an additional 184,065 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

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.