UBS Group Initiates Coverage on Ventas (NYSE:VTR)

Research analysts at UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ventas (NYSE:VTR) in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.74% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Ventas in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.08.

Ventas Trading Down 1.2%

VTR opened at $67.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.26. Ventas has a 1-year low of $56.68 and a 1-year high of $71.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 156.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.87.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. Ventas had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 1.75%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.410-3.46 EPS. Analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 14,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.60, for a total value of $967,796.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $75,157,592. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 168,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were 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 owned 168,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,004,271.04. This represents a 49.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 277,194 shares of company stock valued at $18,307,501 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Ethic Inc. grew its position in Ventas by 27.9% during the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 66,748 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,624,000 after buying an additional 14,568 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas during the first quarter worth approximately $276,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas during the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 25.7% during the first quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 376,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,921,000 after acquiring an additional 77,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 40.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,773 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,391,000 after acquiring an additional 10,091 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.