Analysts Set Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Price Target at $120.77

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $120.77.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Welltower from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Welltower by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 470,419 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $60,228,000 after buying an additional 16,946 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Welltower by 3.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 391,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,925,000 after acquiring an additional 12,265 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 51.3% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,016 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 6,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 3rd quarter valued at $337,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Up 0.5 %

Welltower stock opened at $129.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.32. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Welltower has a 1-year low of $85.40 and a 1-year high of $140.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.31). Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. Welltower’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Welltower will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Welltower’s payout ratio is 176.32%.

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.