Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Stock

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $140.00 to $158.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho raised their target price on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.19.

Welltower Stock Performance

Welltower stock opened at $147.36 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.35. The stock has a market cap of $94.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22. Welltower has a 1-year low of $87.87 and a 1-year high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. On average, analysts expect that Welltower will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Welltower

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geller Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Welltower by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Welltower by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 2,213 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.