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

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $127.63.

WELL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James increased their price objective on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Welltower Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of WELL stock opened at $124.21 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.23. Welltower has a twelve month low of $85.40 and a twelve month high of $140.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a current ratio of 4.10. The company has a market capitalization of $77.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.72, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 176.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Foundation Advisors bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 165.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

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.