Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

by · The Markets Daily

Ventas (NYSE:VTR – Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $71.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $61.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 12.27% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VTR. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.11.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Ventas

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $63.24 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $60.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.16. The firm has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -332.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.36. Ventas has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $65.64.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.74). Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,767.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total transaction of $1,177,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 156,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,207,444.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Community Trust NA purchased a new position in Ventas during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Ventas during the second quarter worth $51,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ventas

(Get Free Report)

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.

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