Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades Ventas (NYSE:VTR) to “Overweight”

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $71.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price target of $61.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.71% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.11.

Ventas Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:VTR opened at $64.13 on Tuesday. Ventas has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $65.64. The firm has a market cap of $26.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -337.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $60.22 and its 200-day moving average is $51.93.

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). Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Ventas will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,761,255.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total transaction of $209,028.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 104,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,761,255.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,065 shares of company stock worth $4,526,464. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Ventas by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 308,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,788,000 after buying an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ventas during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,289,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Ventas by 407.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,697 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,166 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Ventas by 135.4% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 32,654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 18,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in Ventas by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 48,205 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,471,000 after purchasing an additional 11,219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.