Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $109.58.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WELL. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kenneth J. Bacon sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.91, for a total value of $187,038.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,514,903.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Foundation Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 338.7% in the first 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL stock opened at $121.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 3.83 and a current ratio of 4.07. The company has a market capitalization of $72.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 149.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $109.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.57. Welltower has a 52 week low of $78.38 and a 52 week high of $121.48.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.08. Welltower had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 2.21%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Welltower will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This is a boost from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Welltower’s payout ratio is presently 330.86%.

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.