Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.68% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.40.

Ventas Price Performance

NYSE VTR opened at $67.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 157.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.87. Ventas has a 1 year low of $56.68 and a 1 year high of $71.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $65.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.75% and a net margin of 3.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total value of $1,509,405.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 116,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. This represents a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 168,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $11,001,264.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,364 shares in the company, valued at $11,004,271.04. This trade represents a 49.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 376,932 shares of company stock valued at $24,716,734. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VTR. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 53,460 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,148,000 after purchasing an additional 4,850 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 77.6% in the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,785 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 6,197 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in Ventas by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 11,249 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $413,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.