Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Ventas (NYSE:VTR)

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 14,147 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 3,776% compared to the average daily volume of 365 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VTR shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Ventas in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.31.

Ventas Trading Down 1.0%

VTR traded down $0.79 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,265,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,011,318. Ventas has a twelve month low of $56.68 and a twelve month high of $81.89. The stock has a market cap of $37.04 billion, a PE ratio of 151.65, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. Ventas had a return on equity of 2.05% and a net margin of 4.28%.The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.450-3.480 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 369.23%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.01, for a total transaction of $3,262,638.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,521,361.95. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 2,229 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.08, for a total transaction of $178,498.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,527,559.04. This trade represents a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 686,144 shares of company stock worth $50,583,468 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 2nd quarter worth $344,740,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ventas by 4.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,796,312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,533,937,000 after acquiring an additional 2,854,751 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 142.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,507,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $245,514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060,770 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 451.9% during the 2nd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,316,344 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $146,277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896,627 shares during the period. Finally, Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC increased its position in Ventas by 1,135.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 1,552,880 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $108,686,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

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.