Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $81.89 and last traded at $80.0050, with a volume of 2572196 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $81.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VTR shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Ventas from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Ventas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Ventas in a research note on Friday, September 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Ventas in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.40.

Ventas Stock Down 1.2%

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 cap of $37.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 153.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.07.

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

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 369.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.01, for a total transaction of $3,262,638.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,521,361.95. This represents a 3.48% 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, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 33,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total transaction of $2,578,781.07. Following the sale, the chief financial officer 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 688,590 shares of company stock worth $50,754,668 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VTR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,598,827 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,151,182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802,515 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Ventas by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 29,701,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,078,794,000 after buying an additional 387,495 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Ventas by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,927,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,038,176,000 after buying an additional 928,386 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 4.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,226,283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $769,061,000 after buying an additional 574,663 shares during the period. Finally, Resolution Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of Ventas by 10.5% in the first quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 7,889,848 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $542,506,000 after acquiring an additional 751,587 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ventas

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.