Short Interest in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Grows By 26.1%

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,800,000 shares, a growth of 26.1% from the August 31st total of 7,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Ventas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.67.

Ventas Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Ventas stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.84. 3,311,875 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,400,958. 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 firm has a market cap of $26.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -335.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.36. Ventas has a 1 year low of $39.33 and a 1 year high of $65.64. The stock's fifty day moving average is $60.01 and its 200 day moving average is $51.66.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Ventas had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 3.33%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas's payout ratio is -947.32%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,529,016.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,761,255.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 986,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ventas by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,270 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 4.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,292 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 33,717 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,728,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 70,799 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,083,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is 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.