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Welltower (HCN) Q4 FFO Misses Estimates, Revenues Beat

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Have you been eager to see how Welltower Inc. performed in Q4 in comparison with the market expectations? Let’s quickly scan through the key facts from this Toledo, OH-based, healthcare real estate investment trust’s (REIT) earnings release this morning:                                                     

FFO Missed

Welltower came out with normalized funds from operations (FFO) per share of $1.02, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.04.

How Was the Earnings Surprise Trend?

Welltower has a decent earnings surprise history. Before posting a miss in Q4, the company delivered positive surprise in three out of prior four quarters and in-line results in the other occasion, as shown in the chart below. Overall, the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of 1.42% in the trailing four quarters.

Welltower Inc. Price and EPS Surprise


Revenue Came In Higher Than Expected

Welltower posted revenues of $1.10 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.08 billion. It also compared favorably with the year-ago number of $1.08 billion.

Key Developments to Note

Welltower has provided guidance for 2018. The company expects normalized FFO per share in a range of $3.95-$4.05 for 2018. Also, the company anticipates its 2018 same store cash NOI growth to remain in the range of 1–2%.

Further, in sync with strategic repositioning of its premier health care portfolio, the company expects 2018 disposition to be around $1.3 billion.

What Zacks Rank Says

Welltower has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). However, since the latest earnings performance is yet to be reflected in the estimate revisions, the rank is subject to change. While things apparently do not look favorable, it all depends on what sense the just-released report makes to the analysts.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Check back later for our full write up on this HCN earnings report!

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represent funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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