Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $66.25 and last traded at $66.21, with a volume of 1361821 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VTR shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wedbush raised their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ventas from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.63.

Ventas Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $27.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -165.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company's 50 day moving average is $63.33 and its 200-day moving average is $55.02.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Ventas's payout ratio is -449.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total value of $1,177,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 156,403 shares in the company, valued at $9,207,444.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 104,295 shares in the company, valued at $5,761,255.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total value of $1,177,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 156,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,207,444.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,069 shares of company stock valued at $4,923,389. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Ventas during the second quarter worth approximately $135,425,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in Ventas in the second quarter worth $73,517,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 11.5% during the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 7,806,396 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $345,667,000 after buying an additional 802,546 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in Ventas by 217.4% during the second quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 856,525 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $43,905,000 after acquiring an additional 586,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,247.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 496,531 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $25,452,000 after purchasing an additional 459,689 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.