Ventas (NYSE:VTR) vs. CareTrust REIT (NYSE:CTRE) Head to Head Analysis

CareTrust REIT (NYSE:CTRE) and Ventas (NYSE:VTR) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.8% of CareTrust REIT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.2% of Ventas shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of CareTrust REIT shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Ventas shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for CareTrust REIT and Ventas, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CareTrust REIT	0	1	1	1	3.00
Ventas	0	3	12	1	2.88

Ventas has a consensus price target of $77.93, indicating a potential downside of 2.72%. Given Ventas’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ventas is more favorable than CareTrust REIT.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CareTrust REIT and Ventas”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CareTrust REIT	$296.29 million	28.29	$125.08 million	$1.34	28.01
Ventas	$5.56 billion	6.77	$81.15 million	$0.52	154.05

CareTrust REIT has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Ventas. CareTrust REIT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ventas, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

CareTrust REIT pays an annual dividend of $1.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Ventas pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. CareTrust REIT pays out 100.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ventas pays out 369.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ventas has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. CareTrust REIT is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility and Risk

CareTrust REIT has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ventas has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares CareTrust REIT and Ventas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CareTrust REIT	61.00%	7.95%	6.13%
Ventas	4.28%	2.10%	0.91%

Summary

CareTrust REIT beats Ventas on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CareTrust REIT

CareTrust REIT, Inc. is a self-administered, publicly-traded real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership, acquisition, development and leasing of skilled nursing, seniors housing and other healthcare-related properties. With a nationwide portfolio of long-term net-leased properties, and a growing portfolio of quality operators leasing them, CareTrust REIT is pursuing both external and organic growth opportunities across the United States.

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. Ventas leverages its unmatched operational expertise, data-driven insights from its Ventas Operational InsightsTM platform, extensive relationships and strong financial position to achieve its goal of delivering outsized performance across approximately 1,400 properties. The Ventas portfolio is composed of senior housing communities, outpatient medical buildings, research centers and healthcare facilities in North America and the United Kingdom. The Company benefits from a seasoned team of talented professionals who share a commitment to excellence, integrity and a common purpose of helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives.