Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) hit a new 52-week high 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.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on VTR. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Ventas from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Ventas from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.91.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at $56,529,016.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of Ventas 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 71,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,136,524. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in Ventas in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ventas by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ventas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ventas in the second quarter worth $41,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Trading Up 0.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $26.85 billion, a PE ratio of -341.88, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.88. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share 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.