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

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $71.00 target price on the real estate investment trust's stock, up from their prior target price of $61.00. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.13% from the company's previous close.

VTR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wedbush increased their target price on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Ventas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.11.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $63.89. The company had a trading volume of 2,692,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,413,561. Ventas has a one year low of $39.33 and a one year high of $65.64. 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 price is $60.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.08. The firm has a market cap of $26.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -336.25, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.19 billion. Ventas had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 3.33%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,900,767.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total transaction of $209,028.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 90 days, insiders have sold 77,065 shares of company stock worth $4,526,464. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 405.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 171,194 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,532,000 after purchasing an additional 137,327 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Ventas in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,005,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,560,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 7,806,396 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $345,667,000 after acquiring an additional 802,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the first quarter valued at $819,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.