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

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 18,660,497 shares, an increase of 26.9% from the February 12th total of 14,709,627 shares. Currently, 4.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,067,621 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,067,621 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days. Currently, 4.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE:VTR traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $87.75. 3,058,945 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,778,249. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 162.51, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.73. Ventas has a 52-week low of $60.15 and a 52-week high of $88.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $81.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.59.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly 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). Ventas had a return on equity of 2.09% and a net margin of 4.31%.The company had revenue of ($1,229.71) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ventas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.780-3.880 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 355.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $80.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Ventas from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.66, for a total transaction of $801,606.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,114,034 shares in the company, valued at $86,515,880.44. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,930 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total value of $2,312,092.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,434 shares in the company, valued at $10,694,026.50. This trade represents a 17.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 86,106 shares of company stock worth $6,931,397 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in Ventas by 97.7% in the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 36,713 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,570,000 after buying an additional 18,146 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its holdings in Ventas by 1,019.0% in the 2nd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 133,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,403,000 after buying an additional 121,170 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Ventas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,568,000. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in Ventas by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,580,923 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $109,985,000 after buying an additional 120,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,788,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Company Profile

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.