Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Wedbush raised their price target on the stock from $64.00 to $71.00. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Ventas traded as high as $65.06 and last traded at $64.98, with a volume of 542237 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.97.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ventas from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value of $209,028.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,761,255.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value of $209,028.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 104,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,761,255.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total value of $2,296,125.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,529,016.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,739 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $208,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,202,000 after buying an additional 2,170 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 30,496 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,520,000 after buying an additional 4,198 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Ventas by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 641,999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,875,000 after buying an additional 23,803 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $26.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -342.11, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.74). The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. Ventas’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.