Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $93.69.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WELL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on Welltower from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas started coverage on Welltower in a research report on Monday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Welltower from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday.

Welltower Trading Down 1.6 %

WELL traded down $1.45 during trading on Monday, reaching $91.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,115,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,636,692. The stock has a market cap of $52.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.73, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.26. Welltower has a 52 week low of $70.08 and a 52 week high of $94.63. The company has a quick ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.79). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 1.47% and a net margin of 5.12%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Welltower will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 381.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Welltower by 1.9% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,372 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Welltower by 1.6% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 7,632 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Welltower by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 691 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Lcnb Corp boosted its holdings in Welltower by 2.6% in the second quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 4,935 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Welltower by 2.5% in the first quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 5,044 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

About Welltower

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.