Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $147.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price target of $132.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 16.83% from the stock’s previous close.

WELL has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James increased their price objective 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. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Welltower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.63.

Welltower Stock Up 0.9 %

WELL opened at $125.82 on Thursday. Welltower has a 1 year low of $85.40 and a 1 year high of $140.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $132.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a current ratio of 4.10. The company has a market cap of $78.35 billion, a PE ratio of 82.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.31). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 12.22%. Welltower’s revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Welltower will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. First Foundation Advisors bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Welltower during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower by 37.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Welltower by 165.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.