Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Given New $289.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $269.00 to $289.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. UBS Group‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.95% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Welltower from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $239.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Welltower from $259.00 to $246.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.10.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $247.12. The company had a trading volume of 2,663,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,114,111. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $234.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.16, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $181.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.79. Welltower has a 52-week low of $181.47 and a 52-week high of $255.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.03. Welltower had a net margin of 12.08% and a return on equity of 3.61%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Welltower will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Welltower

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $242.06 per share, with a total value of $1,210,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,261,800. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Purchased indirectly through two trusts. The transaction was executed in multiple trades at prices ranging from $241.59 to $242.59. The reported $242.06 price is the weighted-average purchase price. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Welltower in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,425,089,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,599,351,000. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 78,049,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $17,714,830,000 after purchasing an additional 4,045,458 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 2nd quarter valued at $528,400,000. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 60.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 5,339,664 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,211,944,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008,543 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Welltower

These are some of the WELL headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $289 from $269 and maintained a Buy rating. The new target is about 17% above the recently cited share price of $246.33. UBS price target article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan lifted its target to $273 from $260 and kept an Overweight rating, while RBC raised its target to $266 from $260 and maintained Outperform. These revisions imply roughly 11% and 8% upside, respectively, from the price cited in the reports. JPMorgan price target article RBC price target article
• Negative Sentiment: A recent article described Welltower as facing an “execution test” after raising guidance, highlighting that the company must deliver on its improved outlook. The headline provides no specific shortfall, but execution remains a risk investors may monitor. Welltower execution article

About Welltower

Welltower Inc. is a real estate investment trust focused on properties and services that support health care and aging. Its portfolio includes senior housing communities, outpatient medical facilities and post-acute care properties. The company works with senior housing operators, health care providers and other partners to own, lease and manage properties. Its operations span the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1970 as Health Care REIT, the company adopted the Welltower name in 2015.