Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $153.13 and last traded at $152.51, with a volume of 308064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WELL shares. Wedbush upgraded Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.35.

Welltower Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $98.47 billion, a PE ratio of 98.42, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $135.78 and a 200-day moving average of $131.13.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Welltower by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 98,295,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,388,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,044 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,096,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,674,826,000 after buying an additional 318,496 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at $3,943,892,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,706,788 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,357,617,000 after buying an additional 1,652,611 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 10.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,685,844 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,392,349,000 after buying an additional 1,797,330 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

About Welltower

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.