Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.4667.

Several research firms recently issued reports on VTR. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a report on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $80.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th.

Ventas Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $82.00 on Friday. Ventas has a 1 year low of $60.15 and a 1 year high of $88.36. The firm has a market cap of $38.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 151.86, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.46.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 355.56%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,694,026.50. This represents a 17.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.66, for a total value of $801,606.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,114,034 shares in the company, valued at $86,515,880.44. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 86,106 shares of company stock worth $6,931,397. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ventas by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,948,003 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,876,856,000 after buying an additional 2,349,176 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Ventas by 1.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 29,701,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,078,794,000 after acquiring an additional 387,495 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Ventas by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,662,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,309,234,000 after acquiring an additional 735,620 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,988,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,001,447,000 after acquiring an additional 475,633 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,176,254 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $710,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000,341 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ventas

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.