Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ventas (NYSE:VTR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Ventas in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. They set a neutral rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, September 7th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Ventas in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. They set an outperform rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Ventas from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Ventas from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $50.31.

Ventas Stock Up 0.5 %

VTR opened at $44.28 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.77. Ventas has a twelve month low of $39.33 and a twelve month high of $53.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4,428.00, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.26.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 2nd were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 29th. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18,000.00%.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,043 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 47,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,239,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 61,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,889,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 67,809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Company Profile

Ventas Inc, an S&P 500 company, operates at the intersection of two large and dynamic industries healthcare and real estate. Fueled by powerful demographic demand from growth in the aging population, Ventas owns or has investments in a highly diversified portfolio of approximately 1,400 properties in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.