Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $163.75.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WELL shares. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wedbush reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Welltower from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

Welltower Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $154.38 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $150.11 and its 200 day moving average is $143.20. The company has a current ratio of 4.23, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Welltower has a 1 year low of $100.13 and a 1 year high of $158.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.96 billion, a PE ratio of 88.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.94.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.65% and a return on equity of 3.41%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Welltower will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Welltower's payout ratio is 154.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Welltower by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in Welltower by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 6,276 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its position in Welltower by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Welltower by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,368 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Welltower by 62.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,427 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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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