Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Short Interest Update

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,000,000 shares, a decline of 38.7% from the March 15th total of 13,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 304,778 shares of company stock worth $20,934,891 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Franchise Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ventas by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR traded up $0.16 during trading on Thursday, hitting $67.79. The stock had a trading volume of 2,903,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,666,405. The firm has a market cap of $29.67 billion, a PE ratio of 356.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Ventas has a 12 month low of $41.70 and a 12 month high of $71.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.53.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. Analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VTR. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird raised 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, Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.90.

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.