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

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $156.46.

A number of research analysts have commented on WELL shares. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Raymond James upped their price target on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush upgraded Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $146.84 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $143.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22. Welltower has a one year low of $87.87 and a one year high of $158.55. The company has a market capitalization of $94.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Welltower’s payout ratio is 171.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $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.