Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Shares Up 2.3% – Should You Buy?

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) rose 2.3% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $153.33 and last traded at $153.44. Approximately 1,540,386 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 2,801,345 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WELL has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wedbush upgraded Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.46.

Welltower Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $98.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. 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 50-day moving average of $145.78 and a 200-day moving average of $135.57.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 171.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Welltower by 165.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

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.