StockNews.com Lowers Welltower (NYSE:WELL) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Welltower (NYSE:WELL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Sunday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WELL. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, March 18th. They issued an outperform rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $96.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $98.07.

Welltower Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $104.25 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.38 and a 200-day moving average of $94.05. The company has a market capitalization of $62.33 billion, a PE ratio of 128.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 3.83 and a current ratio of 3.83. Welltower has a 52-week low of $77.90 and a 52-week high of $105.69.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.72). The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 1.77% and a net margin of 6.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Welltower will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 301.23%.

Insider Transactions at Welltower

In other news, Director Kenneth J. Bacon sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.91, for a total transaction of $187,038.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,514,903.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Welltower

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter worth about $8,857,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 1,412.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 594,677 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,062,000 after acquiring an additional 555,353 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 89,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,085,000 after acquiring an additional 18,807 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 1,019,796 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $91,955,000 after acquiring an additional 72,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter worth about $5,409,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

About Welltower

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a REIT and S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. Welltower invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate and infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience.