Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $131.42 and last traded at $131.08, with a volume of 215172 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $130.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Wedbush lifted their target price on Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Welltower from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.38.

Welltower Trading Up 0.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $78.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 161.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average is $123.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.16. The company has a current ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 4.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 8.36%. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Welltower’s payout ratio is 330.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WELL. First Foundation Advisors bought a new stake in Welltower during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Welltower during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Welltower in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 338.7% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is 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.