Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $78.09 and last traded at $78.0740, with a volume of 2998434 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $77.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VTR shares. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Ventas from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Ventas in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ventas from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.36.

Ventas Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $37.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 153.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.88.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 2.10% and a net margin of 4.28%.Ventas’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.450-3.480 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Ventas’s payout ratio is 369.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 33,591 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total value of $2,578,781.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,925,304.28. This represents a 16.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 317,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.24, for a total transaction of $23,553,233.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,056,396.80. This represents a 21.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 652,618 shares of company stock worth $47,791,654. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 21,716 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 3.3% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Ventas by 3.8% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ventas by 3.8% during the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Ventas by 3.9% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.