Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Cut to "Sell" at StockNews.com

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $190.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.58.

Welltower Stock Performance

NYSE:WELL traded down $1.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $150.03. 1,878,568 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,492,219. Welltower has a 12 month low of $87.87 and a 12 month high of $151.96. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $131.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.07.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Welltower will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Welltower by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 470,419 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $60,228,000 after purchasing an additional 16,946 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Welltower by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,684,446 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $215,659,000 after purchasing an additional 380,888 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,456 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Welltower by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,477,388 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $185,649,000 after purchasing an additional 324,520 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Welltower by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 20,931 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,638,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company's stock.

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.