Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $143.84 and last traded at $143.17, with a volume of 2062086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $142.59.

The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 12.22%.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 176.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WELL shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Welltower from $190.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Welltower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.96.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Welltower by 2.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 165,077 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,682 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Welltower by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 646,046 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,713,000 after purchasing an additional 17,554 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 16,672 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,135,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 10.4% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 19,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,512,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Finally, Transform Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 11.4% in the third quarter. Transform Wealth LLC now owns 90,078 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,533,000 after buying an additional 9,215 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $130.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.27. The firm has a market cap of $91.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.38, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 4.10, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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.