Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) reached a new 52-week high on Friday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $144.00 to $165.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. Welltower traded as high as $153.13 and last traded at $152.51, with a volume of 308064 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $151.52.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday. Mizuho raised their price objective on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wedbush upgraded Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.96.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Welltower

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Welltower by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 98,295,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,388,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,044 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Welltower by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,096,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,674,826,000 after buying an additional 318,496 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,943,892,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Welltower by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,706,788 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,357,617,000 after buying an additional 1,652,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Welltower by 10.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,685,844 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,392,349,000 after buying an additional 1,797,330 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22. The firm has a market cap of $98.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.48.

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

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s payout ratio is 171.79%.

Welltower Company Profile

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.