Brokerages Set Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Target Price at $69.14

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.71.

VTR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP boosted its position in Ventas by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 29,695 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Ventas by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

NYSE:VTR opened at $68.81 on Friday. Ventas has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $68.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $30.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 362.16, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.17.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. Research analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

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.