Ventas (NYSE: VTR) had its target price upped by Jefferies Group from $72.00 to $78.00 in a report issued on Monday. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other firms have also recently commented on VTR. Analysts at BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Ventas from a market perform rating to an underperform rating in a research note to investors on Friday, March 1st. They now have a $68.00 price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Macquarie upgraded shares of Ventas from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note to investors on Thursday, February 21st. They now have a $66.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Barclays Capital raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $73.00 in a research note to investors on Tuesday, February 19th. They now have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, one has issued an overweight rating, eight have issued a hold rating, and two have issued a sell rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of overweight and a consensus target price of $69.40.

Shares of Ventas traded down 0.14% during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $70.3586. Ventas has a one year low of $53.94 and a one year high of $72.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $68.55. The company has a market cap of $20.541 billion and a P/E ratio of 57.10.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62.

Ventas, Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) with a portfolio of seniors housing and healthcare properties in the United States and Canada.

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