Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Stock Price

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $77.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on VTR. Baird R W raised Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.20.

Remove Ads

Ventas Price Performance

Ventas stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $66.26. 3,030,288 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,385,012. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Ventas has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $71.04. The company has a market cap of $28.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 348.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.80.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 2.90%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $2,852,589.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $78,622,918.44. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP increased its position in Ventas by 0.6% in 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 buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Ventas by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 17.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.