Contrasting Welltower (NYSE:WELL) & Healthpeak Properties (NYSE:DOC)

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) and Healthpeak Properties (NYSE:DOC) are both large-cap real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Welltower and Healthpeak Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Welltower	12.08%	3.61%	2.40%
Healthpeak Properties	12.32%	4.04%	1.76%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Welltower and Healthpeak Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Welltower	0	4	16	1	2.86
Healthpeak Properties	0	14	4	0	2.22

Welltower currently has a consensus target price of $259.81, suggesting a potential upside of 4.81%. Healthpeak Properties has a consensus target price of $21.47, suggesting a potential upside of 6.30%. Given Healthpeak Properties’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Healthpeak Properties is more favorable than Welltower.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.8% of Welltower shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.6% of Healthpeak Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Welltower shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Healthpeak Properties shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Welltower and Healthpeak Properties”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Welltower	$10.84 billion	16.78	$936.84 million	$2.31	107.31
Healthpeak Properties	$2.82 billion	4.93	$71.35 million	$0.54	37.40

Welltower has higher revenue and earnings than Healthpeak Properties. Healthpeak Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Welltower, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Welltower pays an annual dividend of $3.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Healthpeak Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Welltower pays out 147.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Healthpeak Properties pays out 225.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Welltower has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Risk and Volatility

Welltower has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Healthpeak Properties has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Welltower beats Healthpeak Properties on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. Welltower owns interests in properties concentrated in major, high-growth markets in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, consisting of seniors housing and post-acute communities and outpatient medical properties.

About Healthpeak Properties

Healthpeak Properties, Inc. is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) and S&P 500 company. Healthpeak owns, operates, and develops high-quality real estate for healthcare discovery and delivery.