Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Welltower (NYSE:WELL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Welltower from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Welltower from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Welltower from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $104.88.

Welltower Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $114.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $70.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.93, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.18. Welltower has a 12 month low of $78.38 and a 12 month high of $115.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $105.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.25.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 2.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Welltower will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This is a boost from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 301.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kenneth J. Bacon sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.91, for a total value of $187,038.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,514,903.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,857,000. Connors Investor Services Inc. lifted its stake in Welltower by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 117,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,999,000 after purchasing an additional 11,238 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Welltower by 88.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,118,333 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $104,072,000 after purchasing an additional 523,656 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 89,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,085,000 after buying an additional 18,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 1,019,796 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $91,955,000 after buying an additional 72,968 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Company Profile

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a 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 and infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience.