Ltc Properties Seeks Aggressive Shop Growth In 2026 After Portfolio Pivot

LTC Properties (NYSE: LTC) plans to make $600 million in acquisitions by the mid-point of this year as the company continues to grow its senior housing operating portfolio.

Late in 2024, LTC announced a pivot toRIDEA structures, transforming from a “lower growth” triple-net lease model into a “faster growing SHOP-focused REIT,” according to Co-CEO Pam Kessler.

By the end of last year, SHOP assets accounted for approximately 25% of the company’s assets, and that figure is expected to reach approximately 45% of the company’s overall portfolio and account for 40% of the company’s net operating income by the end of this year, Kessler said.

In the first quarter of this year, LTC has converted $26 million in SHOP conversions with $32 million set to be converted over the next sixty days, according to the company’s supplemental. Also in the first quarter, LTC made $108 million in SHOP acquisitions, with $157 million SHOP acquisitions planned over the next 60 days.

“This strategic portfolio transformation reflects our SHOP launch and rapid growth within a targeted 18 month period,” Kessler said during Wednesday’s earnings call.

Kessler said the $600 million acquisition projection is “nearly 70% higher” than the company’s SHOP acquisitions in 2025 when it made $353 million in SHOP acquisitions. In 2025, LTC converted 12 properties to SHOP and those properties saw NOI growth of 22% compared to 2024 results, Kessler reported.

​​”We will continue to invest where we see the best return for our shareholders, which in our crystal ball, looks like it will continue to be SHOP, but if it’s not, we’ll pivot,” Kessler said. “For right now, it’ll be an evolution more towards SHOP than a transformation after this year.”

The SHOP segment for LTC includes 27 properties with 13 converted from triple-net leases and 14 acquisitions through $360 million in new investments for 2025.

Funds from operations (FFO) per share improved by $0.05 to $0.70 cents compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, with the increase primarily due to new SHOP acquisitions and triple-net conversions to the SHOP segment, according to Chief Financial Officer Cece Chikhale.

“We just see much more organic growth from investing in newer assets with a better growth profile,” said Co-CEO Clint Malin. “So that’s really our thesis, and why we’re aggressively growing into SHOP.”

Given the lack of new community openings across the U.S., Kessler said she feels occupancy for LTC SHOP properties could “climb into” the 90th percentile.

“It’s always a fine balance between occupancy and rate growth and we feel that this portfolio has the opportunity for both,” Kessler added.

LTC is focused on newer senior living assets that will be able to compete with newer development once construction activity picks up, Malin said. The company’s current SHOP portfolio has an average property age of nine years.

LTC Executive Vice President Gibson Satterwhite said the company has the ability to “look at smaller transactions which have better price points” to improve financial results, with Satterwhite saying there was a “huge opportunity” in the future for SHOP properties.

The company also added five new operating partners to its SHOP segment, bringing the total number of SHOP operators to seven senior living providers. The company’s total portfolio spans 186 properties with 30 operators in 23 states

On Wednesday, LTC stock rose $0.55 to rest at $39.60, an increase of 1.41% from yesterday’s trading.

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