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Ventas (VTR) Partners With Operators for Senior Housing Growth

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Ventas (VTR - Free Report) , a prominent healthcare REIT, has recently announced a strategic move to enhance the performance of its senior housing portfolio. The company is set to entrust the management of 26 independent living communities to three seasoned senior housing operators to capitalize on attractive markets and bolster occupancy rates.

Reflecting positive sentiments, VTR shares were up 3.2% during Wednesday’s regular session. This expansion aligns with Ventas' acclaimed "Right Market, Right Asset, Right Operator™" strategy while harnessing the expertise of Sodalis Senior Living, Priority Life Care and Discovery Senior Living.

Ventas has garnered attention for its consistent track record of successful operator partnerships. Building on prior collaborations, the company has handpicked three operators that have demonstrated their ability to steer senior housing communities toward a solid performance.

Sodalis Senior Living is responsible for 13 communities in Texas, and Priority Life Care will manage eight communities in Florida. Meanwhile, Discovery Senior Living will oversee five communities in California. These operators are set to leverage their local market insights to maximize results.

VTR's decision to entrust these operators with a significant portion of its senior living assets stems from its proven approach to active asset management. The "Right Market, Right Asset, Right Operator™" strategy emphasizes aligning the right assets with the right operators in markets with favorable demand and supply dynamics. This calculated move capitalizes on the unique strengths of each operator and the potential of the markets they serve, ensuring a symbiotic relationship that drives both occupancy and financial performance.

Central to this strategy is Ventas' proprietary data analytics and insights platform, Ventas OI. Starting in 2020, Ventas has effectively utilized its Ventas OI playbook to smoothly transfer more than 150 communities to new management, yielding significant financial outcomes.

The transition to the new operators is expected to be completed in the coming months, with the majority of the communities commencing operations under their stewardship by Sep 1, 2023. The remaining assets are slated for transition in the early fourth quarter, pending final documentation and customary conditions.

The communities that are part of this transition are currently managed by Holiday by Atria. The shift to the new operators is being facilitated in an orderly manner, with Atria playing a role in ensuring a smooth transition process.

Going forward, Ventas is poised to benefit from its diversified portfolio of healthcare real estate assets in the key markets of the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The rebound in senior housing industry fundamentals and favorable demographic trends aid the company’s senior housing operating portfolio’s growth.

Ventas’ life-science segment is gaining from the increasing longevity of the aging U.S. population and biopharma drug development opportunities. Also, accretive investments in driving its research and innovation business bode well. However, competition from peers and high interest rates are key concerns for Ventas.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have rallied 1.1% in the past three months, outperforming the industry’s increase of 0.8%.

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Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the REIT sector are Welltower (WELL - Free Report) , SBA Communications (SBAC - Free Report) and Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Welltower’s 2023 FFO per share has been raised marginally upward over the past month to $3.53.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SBA Communications’ current-year FFO per share has moved 1.4% northward over the past month to $12.86.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Omega Healthcare’s ongoing year’s FFO per share has been raised marginally upward over the past month to $2.83.

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.

Disclaimer: This article has been written with the assistance of Generative AI. However, the author has reviewed, revised, supplemented, and rewritten parts of this content to ensure its originality and the precision of the incorporated information.

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