Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Welltower (NYSE:WELL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $147.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior target price of $132.00.

WELL has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Welltower from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.63.

Welltower Stock Up 0.9 %

WELL opened at $125.82 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.67. Welltower has a 12 month low of $85.40 and a 12 month high of $140.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.10.

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

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid 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 2.13%. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 176.32%.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WELL. First Foundation Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Welltower by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 165.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Welltower in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently 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.