Candriam S.C.A. Buys 177,891 Shares of Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 381.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 224,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 177,891 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $19,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,953,439,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $501,850,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $451,822,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $390,395,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $387,748,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ventas from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Argus raised their price target on Ventas from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Ventas from $102.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Ventas from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Evercore set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Ventas and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.41.

Ventas Price Performance

VTR stock opened at $88.69 on Monday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.82 and a 1 year high of $101.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $86.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.70. The firm has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 167.35, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.77.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.85). The company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 1.86%. Ventas’s quarterly revenue was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 392.45%.

Ventas Company Profile

Ventas, Inc is a real estate investment trust focused on properties and services that support the health care and senior living sectors. Its portfolio includes senior housing communities, outpatient medical buildings, and research and life science facilities.

The company owns and invests in properties across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Many of its communities and facilities are operated by health care and senior living providers, while Ventas provides real estate capital and asset management.

Ventas was established in 1998 and is headquartered in Chicago.