Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on VTR. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.67.

Ventas Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE VTR traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $58.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,871,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,826,320. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -342.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.37. 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. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total value of $396,924.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,231,860.87. The trade was a 0.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VTR. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Ventas during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. Tobam bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Ventas during the third quarter worth about $80,000. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

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.