Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $88.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Ventas traded as high as $76.62 and last traded at $76.06, with a volume of 2614154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.07.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ventas from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Ventas in a report on Friday, September 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Ventas in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.93.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total value of $65,493.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 111,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,408,324.32. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 19,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.29, for a total transaction of $1,449,332.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,259,376.55. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 619,027 shares of company stock valued at $45,212,873. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Ventas by 1,334.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Ventas by 1,557.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 431 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 76.1% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Ventas by 65.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $36.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.90, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.20.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 2.10%. Ventas’s revenue was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.450-3.480 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 369.23%.

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.