Upcoming AWS Coverage on GEO Group Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / March 3, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR). The Company announced its financial results for Q4 and full year 2016 on February 09, 2017. The seniors housing real estate investment trust surpassed revenue expectations, while it matched market's FFO estimates. Register with us now for your free membership at:

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One of Ventas' competitors within the REIT - Healthcare Facilities space, The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE: GEO), reported on February 22, 2017, its financial results for Q4 and full-year 2016. AWS will be initiating a research report on GEO Group in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on VTR; touching on GEO. Get our free coverage by signing up to:

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Earnings Reviewed

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2016, Ventas generated revenue of $875.71 million compared favorably with Q4 2015 number of $841.27 million. Revenue numbers also beat analysts' consensus of $843 million.

For Q4 2016, Ventas reported income from continuing operations per diluted common share of $0.40 compared to $0.37 for Q4 2015. The Company's income from continuing operations per diluted common share for FY16 grew 36% to $1.59 compared to the same period in FY15, principally due to accretive investments, strong property performance, profits and fees from beneficial transactions, and lower transaction costs.

For Q4 2016, Ventas' normalized Funds from Operations ("FFO") per diluted common share were $1.03, which matched analysts' consensus. For FY16, the Company's FFO grew 5% to $4.13 per diluted common share on a comparable basis, which adjusts all prior periods for the effects of the successful spin-off of Care Capital Properties, Inc. (CCP) completed in August 2015.

Ventas' Reported FFO per diluted common share, as defined by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts ("NAREIT FFO"), per diluted common share of $1.04 for Q4 2016. For FY16, the Company's NAREIT FFO grew 1% to $4.13 compared to the same period in 2015. The FY15 period includes results through August 17, 2015 of the properties that were spun off to CCP.

Portfolio Performance

Ventas' Q4 2016 same-store total portfolio which consist of 1,189 assets, reported same-store cash net operating income (NOI) growth of 2.9% on a y-o-y basis. At a segment level for the reported quarter, the triple net leased portfolio same-store cash NOI increased 4.5%, while the seniors housing operating portfolio ("SHOP") grew 1.1% and the medical office building (MOB) portfolio rose 2.1%.

For the year ended December 31, 2016, cash NOI growth for the Company's total portfolio (1,038 assets) was 2.7% on a y-o-y basis in-line with previous guidance of 2.5% to 3%. At a segment level for the full year 2016, the triple net leased portfolio same-store cash NOI grew 3.7%, SHOP grew 2.3%, and the MOB portfolio grew 1.3%, all consistent with previous guidance ranges.

Q4 and FY16 Highlights

Ventas invested approximately $1.6 billion in FY16, including its accretive acquisition of institutional-quality life science and innovation centers leased by leading research universities. Ventas also committed to funding more than $300 million of development and redevelopment projects, including attractive new ground-up life science developments.

To fund investments and enhance the Company's balance sheet and liquidity profile in FY16, Ventas raised approximately $1.3 billion in aggregate gross proceeds from the sale of 18.9 million shares of common stock at an average gross price of approximately $70 per share and $850 million in long-term senior notes.

Credit Profile

For FY16, Ventas' credit profile included net debt to adjusted pro-forma EBITDA ratio of 5.7x, compared to 6.1x at year-end 2015. The Company posted 38% total indebtedness to gross asset value, an improvement of 4 percentage points on a y-o-y basis and 4.8x fixed charge coverage, an improvement of 0.3x y-o-y. As on the date of the official earnings release, the Company had over $2 billion of available liquidity.

Recent Developments

Ventas' Board declared a dividend for Q1 2017 of $0.775 per share, representing a 6% hike compared to Q1 2016. The dividend is payable in cash on March 31, 2017, to stockholders of record on March 07, 2017. The Company continues to expect to close on its $700 million loan commitment to fund Ardent Health Services' acquisition of LHP Hospital Group late in Q1 2017. Pro-forma for the acquisition, Ardent's leading hospital platform is expected to generate $3 billion in revenues in 6 states.

2017 Guidance

Ventas expects FY17 income from continuing operations per diluted common share to range between $1.72 and $1.78. The Company expects normalized FFO per diluted common share to range between $4.12 and $4.18, in-line with its preliminary outlook provided on January 10, 2017. NAREIT FFO per diluted common share is forecasted between $4.10 and $4.19.

Ventas expects to complete approximately $900 million in strategic dispositions in FY17, including $700 million in proceeds in H2 2017 through the potential sale of 36 skilled nursing facilities owned by Ventas at a 7% cash yield and a gain of over $650 million. Disposition proceeds are expected to be redeployed at approximately the same rate into new 2017 investments approximating $1 billion, principally to scale the Company's life science and acute care hospital platforms. During FY17, Ventas expects to refinance approximately $1 billion of current debt and lengthen the Company's weighted average maturity schedule.

Stock Performance

On Thursday, March 02, 2017, the stock closed the trading session at $64.90, climbing 1.07% from its previous closing price of $64.21. A total volume of 2.75 million shares have exchanged hands, which was higher than the 3-month average volume of 1.94 million shares. Ventas' stock price advanced 5.24% in the last month, 7.66% in the past three months, and 16.47% in the previous twelve months. The stock is trading at a PE ratio of 41.00 and has a dividend yield of 4.78%.

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