Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Short Interest Down 18.2% in October

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,340,000 shares, a decline of 18.2% from the September 30th total of 10,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Ventas Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE VTR traded up $0.46 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $66.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,486,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,379,725. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.10. Ventas has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $66.98. The company has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a PE ratio of -166.22, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Ventas had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 3.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ventas will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently -449.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total value of $2,296,125.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total transaction of $1,177,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 156,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,207,444.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total transaction of $2,296,125.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,069 shares of company stock valued at $4,923,389 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Ventas by 11.5% during the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 7,806,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $345,667,000 after purchasing an additional 802,546 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,931,538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $304,047,000 after acquiring an additional 96,482 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Ventas by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,489,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $239,000,000 after acquiring an additional 413,564 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $135,425,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Ventas by 0.4% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,756,752 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $90,051,000 after purchasing an additional 7,585 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on VTR shares. Wedbush boosted their target price on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.63.

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.