StockNews.com Upgrades Ventas (NYSE:VTR) to "Hold"

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush raised their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Ventas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with 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, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.63.

Ventas Stock Down 2.0 %

VTR stock traded down $1.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $64.19. The company had a trading volume of 2,883,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,393,240. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -377.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.36. Ventas has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $67.61.

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). Ventas had a negative return on equity of 0.70% and a negative net margin of 1.38%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ventas will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $8,022,980.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,291,063.89. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $8,022,980.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,291,063.89. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,004 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total value of $396,924.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,231,860.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 200,533 shares of company stock valued at $12,737,341. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ventas by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 7,806,396 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $345,667,000 after acquiring an additional 802,546 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Ventas by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,931,538 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $304,047,000 after buying an additional 96,482 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Ventas by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,489,159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $239,000,000 after buying an additional 413,564 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $135,425,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,756,752 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $90,051,000 after acquiring an additional 7,585 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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