Ventas Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:VTR)

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 14,147 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 3,776% compared to the average daily volume of 365 call options.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 33,591 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total transaction of $2,578,781.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,925,304.28. The trade was a 16.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 2,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.08, for a total transaction of $178,498.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 106,488 shares in the company, valued at $8,527,559.04. This represents a 2.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 673,268 shares of company stock worth $49,679,007 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Keel Point LLC bought a new position in Ventas during the third quarter valued at $204,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in Ventas by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 20,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its position in Ventas by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 419,484 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,360,000 after purchasing an additional 141,291 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Ventas by 24.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 8,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambria Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 15.6% during the third quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 9,180 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Ventas from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.31.

Ventas Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE VTR opened at $78.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $77.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.67. Ventas has a one year low of $56.68 and a one year high of $81.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $37.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 151.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.78.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. Ventas had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 2.05%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Ventas’s revenue was up 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.450-3.480 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ventas will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 369.23%.

About Ventas

Ventas, Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in healthcare-related real estate. The company acquires, owns and manages a diversified portfolio of properties serving the healthcare continuum, including senior housing communities, skilled nursing facilities, medical office buildings, life science and research centers, and other properties leased to healthcare providers and operators. Ventas generates revenue through long-term leases, property management and selective development activities focused on meeting the real estate needs of the healthcare sector.

Ventas’ business model combines property ownership with active asset management and capital markets activity.