Ventas, Inc. (VTR) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.48 on April 17th

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

Ventas has decreased its dividend by an average of 3.4% annually over the last three years. Ventas has a dividend payout ratio of 315.8% meaning 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 Price Performance

NYSE VTR opened at $66.57 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.42. Ventas has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $67.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a negative return on equity of 0.69% and a negative net margin of 1.38%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ventas will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush upped their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $69.14.

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.