Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Welltower Inc. has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from ten ratings firms, with a target price of $175.00.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.74 per share, yielding 1.8% annually.
• Welltower reported earnings per share of $1.28 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 39.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $175.00.

WELL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Welltower from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Welltower from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th.

Welltower Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $167.78 on Monday. Welltower has a 1 year low of $122.34 and a 1 year high of $171.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $162.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.84. The company has a market capitalization of $112.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 4.19.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.06. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%.The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Welltower will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This is a boost from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is 167.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $151.46 per share, for a total transaction of $3,029,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,029,200. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Welltower by 18.8% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 76,869 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,825,000 after purchasing an additional 12,146 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in Welltower by 13.3% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 24,044 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,696,000 after purchasing an additional 2,827 shares in the last quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new position in Welltower in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,753,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its stake in Welltower by 15.1% in the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 778,419 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $119,666,000 after purchasing an additional 102,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stance Capital LLC grew its stake in Welltower by 36.5% in the second quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 15,992 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,458,000 after purchasing an additional 4,276 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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