Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $225.4286.

Several research firms recently issued reports on WELL. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Welltower from $214.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Welltower from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Welltower from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $231.00 price target on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, December 15th.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL opened at $195.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 3.46. Welltower has a 1 year low of $130.29 and a 1 year high of $216.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $200.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.52.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 2.46%. The business’s revenue was up 41.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.090-6.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Welltower will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 211.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hager Investment Management Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 84.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Welltower by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 153 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Welltower in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Welltower

Welltower Inc (NYSE: WELL) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires and manages real estate serving the health care industry. The company specializes in healthcare infrastructure, owning and operating a diversified portfolio of senior housing, post-acute and long-term care communities, and outpatient medical properties. Welltower’s assets are designed to support the delivery of health care services through a combination of leased properties, joint ventures, and other capital arrangements with health care operators and providers.

The company’s property types include assisted living, memory care, independent living and skilled nursing facilities, as well as medical office buildings and other outpatient-care real estate such as ambulatory surgery centers and specialty clinics.