Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $127.63.

WELL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price target (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. 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. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Foundation Advisors acquired a new stake in Welltower during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Welltower by 165.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Welltower during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $125.82 on Wednesday. Welltower has a 52-week low of $85.40 and a 52-week 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 stock has a market cap of $78.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $132.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.93.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.31). The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. Welltower’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Analysts expect that Welltower will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 176.32%.

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.