Wedbush Raises Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Price Target to $78.00

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Wedbush from $69.00 to $78.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 18.10% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on VTR. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 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. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.14.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of Ventas stock traded up $1.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $66.05. 1,032,147 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,414,997. The company has a market capitalization of $27.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -388.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.42. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ventas in the third quarter valued at $48,000. 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.