Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $143.84 and last traded at $143.17, with a volume of 2062086 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $142.59.

The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 176.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James upped their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $190.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.96.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Welltower in the fourth quarter worth $3,943,892,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Welltower by 638.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,920,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $886,022,000 after purchasing an additional 5,982,711 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Welltower by 38.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,428,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,847,289,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977,845 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Welltower by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 98,295,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,388,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,044 shares during the period. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 23,204.3% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 1,900,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,183,000 after buying an additional 1,891,847 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $91.22 billion, a PE ratio of 96.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 4.10, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $130.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.27.

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.