Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $156.46.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wedbush upgraded Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th.

Welltower Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of WELL stock opened at $146.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a current ratio of 4.22. Welltower has a 1 year low of $87.87 and a 1 year high of $158.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $143.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.17 billion, a PE ratio of 94.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. As a group, research analysts expect that Welltower will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Welltower

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Welltower by 165.5% during 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 period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.