Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $67.67 and last traded at $67.22, with a volume of 236549 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $66.08.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $69.14.

Ventas Trading Up 2.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 356.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.96.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. Analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ventas by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,916,244,000 after purchasing an additional 912,813 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,767,261,000 after buying an additional 599,600 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,710,426,000 after acquiring an additional 581,870 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,498,385,000 after acquiring an additional 982,795 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $643,207,000 after acquiring an additional 537,253 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.