Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

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

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WELL. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Welltower from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $231.00 target price on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Welltower from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $182.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.80.

Welltower Stock Performance

NYSE:WELL opened at $186.23 on Friday. Welltower has a 1-year low of $123.11 and a 1-year high of $209.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $189.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.44, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 5.47 and a quick ratio of 5.47.

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

Welltower Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Welltower by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,778,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,993,121,000 after acquiring an additional 3,991,896 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 4.1% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 46,516,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,285,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,934 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Welltower by 4.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 41,253,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,348,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,665 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the second quarter valued at $4,903,554,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Welltower by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,378,590 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,452,102,000 after purchasing an additional 367,463 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Company Profile

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.