UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Stock

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $90.00 to $99.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. UBS Group‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.56% from the company’s previous close.

VTR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Ventas from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on Ventas from $102.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Mizuho increased their target price on Ventas from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Ventas from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore set a $100.00 price target on shares of Ventas and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.68.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE VTR traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $90.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,368,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,646,908. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.83. Ventas has a 52 week low of $73.82 and a 52 week high of $101.60. The stock has a market cap of $47.79 billion, a PE ratio of 170.50, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VTR. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,953,439,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,190,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $588,045,000 after purchasing an additional 253,019 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the second quarter valued at $501,850,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the second quarter valued at $451,822,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 5.5% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,981,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $442,349,000 after purchasing an additional 258,859 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ventas

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.