Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $95.00 to $115.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Welltower traded as high as $105.77 and last traded at $105.75, with a volume of 1661929 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $104.00.

WELL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Welltower from $96.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. StockNews.com cut Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday. BNP Paribas began coverage on Welltower in a report on Monday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.50.

Insider Transactions at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Kenneth J. Bacon sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.91, for a total transaction of $187,038.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,514,903.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Welltower

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Welltower by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 9,705 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 1,372 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in Welltower in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,621,000. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Welltower during the third quarter valued at approximately $241,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Welltower by 8.3% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 105,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,625,000 after purchasing an additional 8,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Welltower by 16.3% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.14. The stock has a market cap of $63.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 3.83 and a current ratio of 3.83.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.72). Welltower had a return on equity of 1.77% and a net margin of 6.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Welltower’s payout ratio is 301.23%.

Welltower Company Profile

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.