Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas (NYSE:VTR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.13.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE:VTR opened at $58.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -346.15, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.47. Ventas has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $67.61.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,058.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $8,022,980.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,291,063.89. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 41,176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 72,465 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,207,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,695 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 76.8% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 15,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $884,000 after acquiring an additional 6,520 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,856 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.