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

Key Points

• Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from eleven brokerages, with eight analysts giving buy recommendations.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.74 per share, up from $0.67, reflecting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• Welltower reported $1.28 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenues also rising notably by 39.6% year-over-year.

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $169.8182.

WELL has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th.

Welltower Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of WELL opened at $163.08 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.14, a PEG 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 has a one year low of $115.18 and a one year high of $171.09. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $157.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.06.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%. Welltower's revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Welltower will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is presently 167.23%.

Insider Activity at Welltower

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $151.46 per share, for a total transaction of $3,029,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,029,200. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Welltower by 383.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 53,513 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,227,000 after buying an additional 42,436 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Welltower by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Welltower by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 4,064,420 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $612,549,000 after purchasing an additional 266,292 shares in the last quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC increased its holdings in Welltower by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 17,019 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Welltower by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,871 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,671,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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