Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") has affirmed the ratings of Ventas Inc. and its subsidiaries, including its Baa1 senior unsecured debt rating. The ratings affirmation reflects Ventas' position as one of the largest healthcare REITs, as well as its property type diversification, strong liquidity and sound capital structure. The outlook has been revised to negative to reflect the risks Ventas faces in its senior housing business, as the coronavirus pandemic is likely to cause acute occupancy decline and cash flow pressure across the industry.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) - a way for investors to gain access to assets such as apartments and office buildings while often collecting generous yields - had a disappointing 2018. With just a few days left to go in the year, the Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ) had lost 13.5% compared to a 12% decline for the broader market. This contrasts with 10-year average annual gains of just more than 12% for the VNQ.Will REITs bounce back in 2019? Well, the same fear that hampered these real-estate plays in 2018 - rising interest rates - still is on the board for the coming year. And higher rates on bonds sometimes hamper the performance of REITs.However, these companies are not created equal. The best REITs for 2019 could benefit from other powerful trends in 2019. For instance, cloud computing's growth should continue to fuel robust demand for data storage services. A massive infrastructure spending bill could improve the fortunes of related REIT plays. And mobile-data growth, as well as the rollout of lightning-fast 5G technology, offers potential growth for cell-tower REITs.Here are the 13 best REITs to buy and hold in 2019. Not only should they benefit from broad trends that could help them outperform their brethren, but REITs as a whole are trading at much more palatable valuations lately. Moreover, average dividend yields in the space currently exceed 4%; all the more reason for investors to stick with REITs if market rockiness continues in the coming year. SEE ALSO: The 10 Best REITs to Buy for 2020