Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Stock Price

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its target price increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $70.00 to $74.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

VTR has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $70.71.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $68.18 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.08. Ventas has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $68.52. The company has a market capitalization of $29.80 billion, a PE ratio of 358.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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, analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ventas news, 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 value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VTR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,282,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Ventas by 862.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,932,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $252,160,000 after purchasing an additional 3,523,594 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 105.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,408 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $365,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rush Island Management LP boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 130.6% in the 4th quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,097,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $182,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754,494 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.