Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $66.25 and last traded at $66.21, with a volume of 1361821 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on VTR. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.63.

Ventas Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $27.04 billion, a PE ratio of -385.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.48 and a 200-day moving average of $55.10.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.74). Ventas had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 3.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,058.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the company’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 transaction of $8,022,980.16. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total value of $2,296,125.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,529,016.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,291,063.89. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 200,533 shares of company stock worth $12,737,341. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 54.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,680 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $987,000 after purchasing an additional 7,979 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Ventas by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $257,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Ventas by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Ventas by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 58,207 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,534,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.