Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

WELL has been the topic of several other reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wedbush raised shares of Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.46.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL stock opened at $147.77 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.44. The company has a market cap of $94.76 billion, a PE ratio of 94.72, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Welltower has a 12-month low of $87.87 and a 12-month high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. Analysts expect that Welltower will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Welltower

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 165.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.