Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $132.66 and last traded at $131.50, with a volume of 100843 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $132.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WELL. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.38.

Welltower Stock Down 1.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $79.31 billion, a PE ratio of 126.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 4.07 and a current ratio of 4.07.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. Welltower had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 2.21%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 260.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. First Foundation Advisors purchased a new position in Welltower in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 338.7% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.