Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Buy" by the nine brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.14.

VTR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Baird R W raised Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 29,695 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ventas by 17.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR traded down $0.77 on Friday, reaching $66.08. The stock had a trading volume of 2,113,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,555,563. Ventas has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $67.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.88 billion, a PE ratio of 347.79, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.07 and a 200 day moving average of $61.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is 947.42%.

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.