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What's in the Offing for Ventas Stock This Earnings Season?

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Ventas, Inc. (VTR - Free Report) is scheduled to report third-quarter 2024 results on Oct. 30, after market close. The quarterly results are likely to display year-over-year growth in revenues and normalized funds from operations (FFO) per share.

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

In the last reported quarter, this Chicago-based healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT) delivered a normalized FFO per share of 80 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.3%. The quarterly results reflected better-than-anticipated revenues. Ventas’ same-store cash net operating income increased year over year on strong performance across the portfolio.

Ventas’ normalized FFO per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and met in the remaining period, with the average beat being 2.01%. The graph below depicts this surprise history:

 

Ventas, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Ventas, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Ventas, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Ventas, Inc. Quote

 

Factors at Play

In the third quarter, Ventas’ senior housing operating portfolio (SHOP) is likely to have benefited from an aging U.S. population and a rise in healthcare expenditure by this age cohort, which is generally higher than the average population. With the segment witnessing positive net move-ins, occupancy is expected to have remained high.

The increasing life expectancy of the U.S. population is likely to have fueled the demand for life-science assets. Benefiting from this positive trend, Ventas’ research portfolio is anticipated to have fared well during the to-be-reported quarter.

A well-diversified tenant base with long-term leases is expected to have contributed well to stable rental revenue generation, boosting the top line.

The consensus mark for outpatient medical and research portfolio rental income for the third quarter is pegged at $218.6 million, indicating growth from $226.3 million reported in the year-ago period.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter resident fees and services is pegged at $830.7 million, suggesting an increase from $754.4 million reported in the year-ago period.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter revenues is currently pegged at $1.21 billion, implying a 5.1% increase from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.

Ventas is likely to have continued with its accretive investments in the research portfolio during the quarter, backed by a healthy balance sheet position.

However, the triple-net leased properties segment is likely to be affected during the to-be-reported quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter triple-net leased rental income is pegged at $150 million, suggesting a decrease from $159.8 million reported in the year-ago period.

High interest expenses are expected to have been a spoilsport for VTR during the third quarter.

Ventas’ activities during the soon-to-be-reported quarter were inadequate to gain analysts’ confidence. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter FFO per share has remained unrevised at 80 cents over the past month. However, the figure implies an increase of 6.7% from the year-ago quarter’s reported number.

What Our Quantitative Model Predicts

Our proven model predicts a likely beat in terms of FFO per share for Ventas this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an FFO beat, which is the case here.

Ventas currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.97% and carries a Zacks Rank of 2. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Other Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are two other stocks from the broader REIT sector — Extra Space Storage (EXR - Free Report) and Public Storage (PSA - Free Report) — you may want to consider, as our model shows that these, too, have the right combination of elements to report a surprise this quarter.

Extra Space Storage, scheduled to report quarterly numbers on Oct. 29, has an Earnings ESP of +0.67% and carries a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Public Storage is slated to report quarterly numbers on Oct. 30. PSA has an Earnings ESP of +0.26% and carries a Zacks Rank of 3 presently.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.


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