Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Welltower (NYSE:WELL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other analysts have also commented on WELL. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wedbush upgraded shares of Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.46.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $149.78 on Wednesday. Welltower has a 52 week low of $87.87 and a 52 week high of $158.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $144.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.23. The company has a quick ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $96.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Welltower

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 121,080 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,260,000 after buying an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $25,818,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its stake in Welltower by 2,074.5% during the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 17,135 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 16,347 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at about $539,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.