Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.46.

Welltower Stock Performance

WELL traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $149.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,808,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,643,607. The company’s 50-day moving average is $144.88 and its 200-day moving average is $135.23. Welltower has a 52 week low of $87.87 and a 52 week high of $158.55. The firm has a market cap of $96.06 billion, a PE ratio of 96.01, 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 quick ratio of 4.22 and a current ratio of 4.22.

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

Institutional Trading of Welltower

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

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.