Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $153.13 and last traded at $152.51, with a volume of 308064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WELL. Royal Bank of Canada raised Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday. Wedbush raised Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.35.

Welltower Stock Up 1.3 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $135.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. 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 (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s payout ratio is 171.79%.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Welltower by 165.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.