Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $131.42 and last traded at $131.08, with a volume of 215172 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $130.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WELL shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Welltower from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.38.

Welltower Trading Up 1.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $79.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 163.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $124.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.57. The company has a quick ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 4.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 8.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This is an increase from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 330.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Welltower

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Welltower by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,187,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,333,716,000 after buying an additional 3,257,213 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 26.4% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,236,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,731,842,000 after acquiring an additional 6,104,064 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Welltower by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,814,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $814,678,000 after purchasing an additional 62,942 shares during the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Welltower by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 5,329,248 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $507,771,000 after purchasing an additional 849,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Welltower by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,433,816 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $414,229,000 after purchasing an additional 489,533 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

About Welltower

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.