Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.48

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.48 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

Ventas has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 3.4% per year over the last three years. Ventas has a payout ratio of 315.8% 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 research analysts expect Ventas to earn $3.39 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 53.1%.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $64.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $59.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.40. Ventas has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $67.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a negative net margin of 1.38% and a negative return on equity of 0.69%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VTR. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $68.71.

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.