Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Welltower Inc. experienced a significant rise in short interest, increasing by 36,015.1% to over 10 million shares as of July 15, leading to a days-to-cover ratio of 3.5 days.
• The company reported earnings of $1.28 per share, exceeding estimates while also seeing a 39.6% year-over-year increase in revenue to $2.55 billion.
• Welltower has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.74, which translates to an annualized payout of $2.96 and a dividend yield of 1.8%.

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 10,040,000 shares, anincreaseof36,015.1% from the June 30th total of 27,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,890,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 2,890,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Welltower Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Welltower stock traded up $1.43 on Friday, hitting $166.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,493,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,980,885. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $154.79 and a 200-day moving average of $148.77. Welltower has a 1 year low of $110.74 and a 1 year high of $168.84.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. Welltower's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Welltower will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This is an increase 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WELL shares. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was bought 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 directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,029,200. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the first quarter worth $762,204,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Welltower by 53.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,430,496 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,062,495,000 after buying an additional 2,939,229 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Welltower by 41.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,923,852 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,367,226,000 after buying an additional 2,622,384 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Welltower by 14.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,289,684 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,261,792,000 after buying an additional 2,614,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of Welltower by 23,204.3% in the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 1,900,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,183,000 after buying an additional 1,891,847 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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