Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 12,165,881 shares, a decrease of 16.9% from the November 30th total of 14,647,589 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,572,724 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,572,724 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on WELL. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Welltower from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Welltower from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $196.00 price objective on Welltower in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.80.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WELL. Hager Investment Management Services LLC raised its position in Welltower by 84.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the third quarter worth $35,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new position in Welltower during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the first quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Welltower stock traded down $2.45 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $185.55. 2,359,059 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,067,342. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 5.47 and a quick ratio of 5.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 127.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $191.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.86. Welltower has a 1-year low of $123.11 and a 1-year high of $209.05.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.04. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.71% and a net margin of 9.69%.The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 30.7% on a year-over-year basis. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.240-5.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Welltower will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 11th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 204.14%.

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.