Raymond James Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Stock

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) had its price objective upped by Raymond James from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a strong-buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Welltower from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Mizuho upped their price target on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.63.

Welltower Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $128.70 on Monday. Welltower has a 12-month low of $85.40 and a 12-month high of $140.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.67, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.78. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.31). The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 12.22%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Welltower’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Welltower will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 176.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Welltower

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Welltower by 37.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 0.9% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 9,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Welltower by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Welltower by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.