Analyst Review Alert: Welltower Inc (NYSE:HCN)

Analysts are weighing in on how Welltower Inc (NYSE:HCN), might perform in the near term. Wall Street analysts have a much less favorable assessment of the stock, with a mean rating of 2.6. The stock is rated as buy by 3 analysts, with 3 outperform and 14 hold rating. The rating score is on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 stands for strong buy and 5 stands for strong sell.

For the full year, 18.00 Wall Street analysts forecast this company would deliver earnings of 4.57 per share, with a high estimate of $4.61 and a low estimate of $4.52. It had reported earnings per share of $4.38 in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Revenue for the period is expected to total nearly $4.20B versus 3.86B in the preceding year.

The analysts project the company to maintain annual growth of around 4.07% percent over the next five years as compared to an average growth rate of 15.73% percent expected for its competitors in the same industry.

Among the 17 analysts Data provided by Thomson/First Call tracks, the 12-month average price target for HCN is $70.53 but some analysts are projecting the price to go as high as $83.00. If the optimistic analysts are correct, that represents a 15 percent upside potential from the recent closing price of $72.15. Some sell-side analysts, particularly the bearish ones, have called for $60.00 price targets on shares of Welltower Inc (NYSE:HCN).

In the last reported results, the company reported earnings of $1.09 per share, while analysts were calling for share earnings of $1.08. It was an earnings surprise of 0.90%percent. In the matter of earnings surprises, the term Cockroach Effect is often implied. Cockroach Effect is a market theory that suggests that when a company reveals bad news to the public, there may be many more related negative events that have yet to be revealed. In the case of earnings surprises, if a company is suggesting a negative earnings surprise it means there are more to come.

Welltower Inc. is an independent equity real estate investment trust. The firm engages in acquiring, planning, developing, managing, repositioning and monetizing of real estate assets. It primarily invests in the real estate markets of the United States. The firm primarily invests in senior living and health care properties. It invests across the full spectrum of health care real estate, including senior living communities, medical office buildings, inpatient and outpatient medical centers and life science facilities. The firm conducts in-house research to make its investments. It was formerly known as Health Care REIT, Inc. Welltower Inc. was founded in 1970 and is based in Toledo, Ohio with additional offices in Brentwood, Tennessee and Dallas, Texas.