Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $175.20 and last traded at $175.22, with a volume of 86059 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $174.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WELL. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Welltower in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.42.

Welltower Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.24 billion, a PE ratio of 99.97, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 4.19, a current ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. Welltower had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This is a boost from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 167.23%.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 1,604 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,460 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by 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.