Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Receives “Equal Weight” Rating from Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company restated their equal weight rating on shares of Welltower (NYSE:WELL) in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $135.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior target price of $134.00.

WELL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Scotiabank upped their price target on Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Welltower to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush upped their target price on Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Welltower from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Welltower currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $115.38.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL stock opened at $127.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $76.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 157.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $120.44 and its 200 day moving average is $106.52. Welltower has a 52 week low of $78.38 and a 52 week high of $131.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 4.07 and a current ratio of 4.07.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.08. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 8.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Welltower will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This is a boost from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is 330.86%.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Foundation Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Welltower during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Welltower in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors 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.