Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Price Target Raised to $77.00

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its price target increased by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $77.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 13.40% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.13.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR traded up $0.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $67.90. 201,497 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,647,375. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 357.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Ventas has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. As a group, research analysts predict that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Ventas by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

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.