Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Welltower (NYSE:WELL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Sunday morning.

WELL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Welltower from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Welltower in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued an outperform rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Welltower from $96.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Welltower from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $99.50.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL stock opened at $105.35 on Friday. Welltower has a 52-week low of $77.90 and a 52-week high of $106.23. The company has a quick ratio of 3.83, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $62.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $100.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.24.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.72). Welltower had a return on equity of 1.77% and a net margin of 6.37%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Welltower will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 301.23%.

Insider Transactions at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Kenneth J. Bacon sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.91, for a total transaction of $187,038.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,514,903.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Welltower in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in Welltower by 338.7% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 84.0% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Company Profile

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.