Welltower Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.67 (NYSE:WELL)

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, October 28th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of 0.67 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th.

Welltower has decreased its dividend by an average of 3.3% per year over the last three years. Welltower has a dividend payout ratio of 148.1% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Welltower to earn $4.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.4%.

Welltower Trading Up 5.2 %

WELL stock traded up $6.77 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $137.34. The stock had a trading volume of 4,117,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,679,277. Welltower has a 12-month low of $80.80 and a 12-month high of $137.73. The firm has a market cap of $82.12 billion, a PE ratio of 169.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.21. The company's 50-day moving average price is $126.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 4.07 and a quick ratio of 4.07.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.31). Welltower had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 2.21%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Welltower's revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Welltower will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WELL. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research raised Welltower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Welltower from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $135.00 target price (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.38.

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.