Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $85.75 and last traded at $85.5690, with a volume of 3986557 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VTR shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Ventas from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.38.

Ventas Stock Up 2.0%

The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $40.64 billion, a PE ratio of 158.46, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $78.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.59.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 355.56%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,930 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total transaction of $2,312,092.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,434 shares in the company, valued at $10,694,026.50. This trade represents a 17.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 2,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $221,707.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,698,447.17. The trade was a 2.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 96,868 shares of company stock valued at $7,574,022 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at $594,116,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $474,571,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ventas by 188.7% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,705,591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $364,119,000 after purchasing an additional 3,075,450 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ventas by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,796,312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,533,937,000 after acquiring an additional 2,854,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 142.4% during 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 in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.