Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $221.00 to $242.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Welltower traded as high as $152.09 and last traded at $151.92, with a volume of 158719 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $149.97.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho raised their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.19.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Welltower by 37.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 165.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 4.10, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.33. The company has a market cap of $93.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.23.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 12.22%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 176.32%.

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.