Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Price Target Raised to $73.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its price target increased by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.66% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on VTR. Mizuho cut their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush upped their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.38.

Ventas Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Ventas stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.81. The stock had a trading volume of 300,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,358,110. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.55. 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 cap of $29.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 357.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ventas in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.