Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Welltower (NYSE:WELL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Raymond James lifted 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. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush raised Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.46.

Welltower Stock Down 0.9 %

Welltower stock opened at $149.92 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $96.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.10, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. Welltower has a 1-year low of $87.87 and a 1-year high of $158.55. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $142.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.25.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. Equities research analysts forecast that Welltower will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 121,080 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,260,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,818,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 2,074.5% in the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 17,135 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 16,347 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at about $539,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

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.