Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $134.81.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WELL. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America upped their target price on Welltower from $190.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Welltower by 37.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Welltower by 165.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the third quarter worth about $59,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Up 3.4 %

WELL opened at $136.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.10, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Welltower has a twelve month low of $85.40 and a twelve month high of $140.75. The company has a market cap of $85.18 billion, a PE ratio of 90.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $130.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.23.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.31). Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Welltower will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 176.32%.

Welltower Company Profile

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a real estate investment trust (“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 infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people’s wellness and overall health care experience.