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

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $157.46.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WELL shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Welltower from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America increased their target price on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho lifted 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Welltower by 29.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,684,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $215,659,000 after purchasing an additional 380,888 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $337,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in Welltower by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Welltower by 3.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 391,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,925,000 after acquiring an additional 12,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $150.98 on Tuesday. Welltower has a one year low of $95.86 and a one year high of $158.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.78, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $148.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.33.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.05. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Welltower will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Welltower’s payout ratio is 154.02%.

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.