Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America upped their target price on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Welltower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.46.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $147.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.34, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.93. Welltower has a 1-year low of $90.76 and a 1-year high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Welltower will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is 171.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WELL. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at $226,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the first quarter valued at about $219,000. AA Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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. acquired a new position in Welltower during the 1st quarter worth about $233,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Welltower by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 83,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,749,000 after acquiring an additional 5,795 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.