Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $89.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $80.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a report on Monday, February 9th. Argus set a $88.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research note on Monday, December 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ventas news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 35,532 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $3,020,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 72,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,184,175. This represents a 32.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total value of $2,312,092.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,694,026.50. This trade represents a 17.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 86,106 shares of company stock worth $6,931,397. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 856.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 7,097 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 6.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Ventas by 46.8% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,532,000 after acquiring an additional 11,739 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Ventas by 130.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 12,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Ventas by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 372,054 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,489,000 after acquiring an additional 59,522 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE VTR opened at $86.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.66, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.79 and a 200 day moving average of $75.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Ventas has a twelve month low of $60.15 and a twelve month high of $87.87.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.74). The business had revenue of ($1,229.71) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 2.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. Ventas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.780-3.880 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ventas will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 355.56%.

Ventas Company Profile

Ventas, Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in healthcare-related real estate. The company acquires, owns and manages a diversified portfolio of properties serving the healthcare continuum, including senior housing communities, skilled nursing facilities, medical office buildings, life science and research centers, and other properties leased to healthcare providers and operators. Ventas generates revenue through long-term leases, property management and selective development activities focused on meeting the real estate needs of the healthcare sector.

Ventas’ business model combines property ownership with active asset management and capital markets activity.