Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target 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 restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price target (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.38.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $133.27 on Wednesday. Welltower has a 52 week low of $84.38 and a 52 week high of $139.80. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $127.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.36. The firm has a market cap of $82.99 billion, a PE ratio of 87.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 176.32%.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. First Foundation Advisors acquired a new stake in Welltower during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 338.7% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.