Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Welltower (NYSE:WELL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

WELL has been the topic of several other reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $231.00 price objective on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Welltower from $182.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $196.00 price objective on Welltower in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.80.

Welltower Stock Up 0.1%

Welltower stock opened at $186.28 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 5.47 and a current ratio of 5.47. The company has a market cap of $127.85 billion, a PE ratio of 128.47, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.84. Welltower has a fifty-two week low of $123.11 and a fifty-two week high of $209.05.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.04. Welltower had a net margin of 9.69% and a return on equity of 2.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.240-5.300 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Welltower will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 11th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 204.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Welltower

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in Welltower by 53.8% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,275,000 after purchasing an additional 8,400 shares during the last quarter. Keel Point LLC increased its position in shares of Welltower by 5.2% in the third quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 3,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 28,048 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,997,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 21,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,876,000 after buying an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in Welltower by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 125,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,270,000 after acquiring an additional 15,600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

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.