Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Given New $165.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) had its price objective hoisted by Scotiabank from $144.00 to $165.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wedbush raised shares of Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.96.

Welltower Stock Performance

WELL opened at $153.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $98.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.42, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. Welltower has a 52-week low of $87.87 and a 52-week high of $153.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.38.

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

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Welltower

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Welltower by 165.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently 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.