Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Upgraded at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas (NYSE:VTR) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $65.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their prior price target of $66.00.

VTR has been the subject of several other research reports. Mizuho cut their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.13.

Ventas Stock Performance

Ventas stock opened at $58.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.36. The stock has a market cap of $24.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -346.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Ventas has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $67.61.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,058.76%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at $65,291,063.89. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate 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 the business. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Ventas in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Ventas in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas during the third quarter worth approximately $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

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.