Ventas, Inc. (VTR) To Go Ex-Dividend on October 1st

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, September 17th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.45 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st.

Ventas has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 5.6% annually over the last three years. Ventas has a payout ratio of 2,571.4% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Ventas to earn $3.35 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.7%.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR opened at $64.21 on Thursday. Ventas has a one year low of $39.33 and a one year high of $65.64. The company has a market cap of $26.53 billion, a PE ratio of -337.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $58.53 and a 200-day moving average of $50.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ventas will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value of $209,028.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,761,255.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total transaction of $2,296,125.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total transaction of $209,028.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 104,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,761,255.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VTR. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wolfe Research raised Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.45.

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.