Valued at $94.6 billion by market cap, Toledo, Ohio-based Welltower Inc. (WELL) operates as a real estate investment trust. The company invests with leading senior housing operators and post-acute providers to fund the real estate infrastructure required to scale innovative care delivery models and aid in improving people's wellness and healthcare experience.
Companies valued at $10 billion or more are generally classified as “large-cap stocks,” WELL fits this criterion perfectly. As a key player in the real estate sector, Welltower owns interests in properties concentrated in major, high-growth markets in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.
Welltower stock recently touched its all-time high of $158.55 on Mar. 4 and is currently trading 7% below that peak. Over the past three months, WELL stock has surged 12.2%, significantly outpacing the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 5.3% decline during the same period.
Over the longer term, Welltower’s performance looks even more impressive. WELL stock soared 18.3% over the past six months and 60.2% over the past 52 weeks, significantly outperforming SPX’s 6.7% gains over the past six months and 11.9% returns over the past year.
To confirm the bullish trend, Welltower stock has traded consistently above its 200-day moving average over the past year and above its 50-day moving average since mid-January.
Welltower’s stock prices gained 2.2% in the trading session after the release of its impressive Q4 results on Feb. 11. The company announced a 28.6% year-over-year growth in its total revenues to approximately $2.3 billion. Meanwhile, driven by a solid 12.8% year-over-year growth in comparable net operating income, Welltower’s net income to shareholders surged nearly 43% compared to the year-ago quarter to approximately $120 million. Furthermore, Welltower's normalized funds from operations increased 17.7% year-over-year to $1.13 per share, exceeding the Street's expectations, which boosted investor confidence.
Moreover, the company also outperformed its top rival Ventas, Inc.'s (VTR) surge of 8% over the past six months and 55.9% over the past 52 weeks.
Observing Welltower's solid performance, analysts remain extremely bullish on the company's prospects. WELL stock has a consensus “Strong Buy” rating among the 19 analysts covering it. WELL’s mean price target of $72.89 implies a 7.4% potential upside from the current market prices.
