Welltower Inc. (HCN) Lowered to “Sell” at BidaskClub

BidaskClub cut shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:HCN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on HCN. Mizuho reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Welltower from an in-line rating to an underperform rating in a research note on Monday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 5th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Welltower from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $86.00 price target on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $73.29.

Shares of Welltower (NYSE:HCN) traded up 0.38% during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,365,187 shares. The company has a market capitalization of $26.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.85. Welltower has a 1-year low of $59.39 and a 1-year high of $80.19.

Welltower (NYSE:HCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 29.10% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Welltower will post $2.21 EPS for the current year.

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The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 4th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.41%.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems purchased a new stake in Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,761,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at about $786,000. Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in Welltower by 29.0% in the first quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 22,247 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,576,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Liberty Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Welltower by 15.0% in the first quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Finally, Private Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Welltower by 3.4% in the first quarter. Private Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,980 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. 86.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Welltower

Welltower Inc invests with seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund real estate and infrastructure. The Company invests in seniors housing and healthcare real estate. It operates in three segments: triple-net, seniors housing operating and outpatient medical. Welltower, a real estate investment trust (REIT), owns interests in properties concentrated in markets in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, consisting of seniors housing and post-acute communities, and outpatient medical properties.