Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $1.28 Million Investment in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,430 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,281,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the first quarter worth $25,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ventas in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael J. Embler bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $78.81 per share, with a total value of $197,025.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,513,309.62. This trade represents a 14.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $91.78 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $92.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.61. The company has a market cap of $47.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 169.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.69. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.38 and a 12 month high of $101.60.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.99% and a net margin of 4.08%.Ventas’s revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Ventas from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ventas from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ventas from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

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.