Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.48

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.48 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

Ventas has decreased its dividend by an average of 3.4% per year over the last three years. Ventas has a dividend payout ratio of 315.8% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Ventas to earn $3.39 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.1%.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of Ventas stock traded up $1.63 during trading on Monday, reaching $66.57. 4,227,448 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,191,754. The company has a market capitalization of $27.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -391.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Ventas has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $67.61.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a negative return on equity of 0.69% and a negative net margin of 1.38%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $69.14.

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.