Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $69.00 to $72.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Ventas traded as high as $69.98 and last traded at $69.66, with a volume of 126631 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.18.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ventas by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Trading Up 1.6 %

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $61.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.38. The firm has a market cap of $30.74 billion, a PE ratio of 370.12, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

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.