Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Stock

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) had its price target raised by research analysts at Bank of America from $190.00 to $221.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 61.29% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on WELL. Scotiabank boosted their price objective 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. Raymond James lifted their price target on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 target price (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.81.

Welltower Stock Up 3.6 %

WELL stock traded up $4.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $137.02. 1,245,622 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,489,724. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.00. Welltower has a 1-year low of $85.40 and a 1-year high of $140.75. 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 $85.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.22.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued 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). Welltower had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 12.22%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Welltower will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Welltower

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 638.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,920,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $886,022,000 after purchasing an additional 5,982,711 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 38.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,428,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,847,289,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977,845 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter worth about $254,977,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Welltower by 10.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,685,844 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,392,349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Welltower by 29.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,684,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $215,659,000 after acquiring an additional 380,888 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

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.