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 note published on Friday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Welltower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.46.

Welltower Price Performance

NYSE:WELL opened at $147.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Welltower has a 52 week low of $90.76 and a 52 week high of $158.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $148.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.89 billion, a PE ratio of 94.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.93.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Welltower will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders 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 1.82%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 171.79%.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during the first quarter worth $226,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at about $219,000. AA Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Welltower by 48.1% in the first quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,582 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. purchased a new position in Welltower during the first quarter worth about $233,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Welltower by 7.5% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 83,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,749,000 after buying an additional 5,795 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

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.