Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Downgraded to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $96.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.07.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $104.25 on Friday. Welltower has a fifty-two week low of $77.90 and a fifty-two week high of $105.69. The firm has a market cap of $62.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 3.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.03.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.72). The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 1.77% and a net margin of 6.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Welltower will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kenneth J. Bacon sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.91, for a total transaction of $187,038.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,514,903.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Welltower by 338.7% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in Welltower by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Company Profile

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a 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 and infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience.