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

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $116.68.

Several brokerages have weighed in on WELL. StockNews.com raised Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 target price (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $137.67 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $85.73 billion, a PE ratio of 90.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.23. Welltower has a fifty-two week low of $84.38 and a fifty-two week high of $140.19.

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

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 176.32%.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Welltower by 3.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,187,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,333,716,000 after buying an additional 3,257,213 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Welltower by 26.4% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,236,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,731,842,000 after buying an additional 6,104,064 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 0.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,814,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $814,678,000 after acquiring an additional 62,942 shares during the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 19.0% in the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 5,329,248 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $507,771,000 after acquiring an additional 849,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 3.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,026,158 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $419,727,000 after acquiring an additional 139,430 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.