Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) shares hit a new 52-week high during 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 trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $149.97.

WELL has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.19.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geller Advisors LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Welltower by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position 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 valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old North State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower by 0.6% in the third quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a current ratio of 4.10. The firm has a market cap of $93.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.04, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $132.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.33.

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

Welltower Dividend Announcement

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

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.