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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Welltower Inc. WELL. Shares have lost about 1.8% in that time frame.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is WELL due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
Welltower Q4 FFO Misses Estimate, Revenues Up Y/Y
Welltower reported normalized FFO per share of $1.02 for fourth-quarter 2017, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.04. Further, on a year-over-year basis, the figure declined 7.3% from $1.10.
Results reflect an increase of 10.7% in property operating expenses.
The company recorded revenues of $1.10 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.08 billion. Also, revenues inched up 1.9% from the year-ago tally.
For full-year 2017, normalized FFO per share came in at $4.21, 7.5% lower than the year-ago figure of $4.55. However, revenues for the full-year came in at $4.32 billion, up nearly 1% from $4.28 billion reported in 2016.
Quarter in Detail
Total portfolio same-store net operating income (SSNOI) grew 2.1% year over year, driven by growth in all the segments.
Welltower accomplished $334 million of pro rata gross investments in the fourth quarter. This included $223 million in acquisitions/joint ventures, $108 million in development funding as well as $3 million in loans. Notably, the company completed 80% of these investments with present relationships.
On the other hand, the company accomplished total dispositions of $142 million in the quarter. This comprised loan payoffs of $28 million and property sales of $114 million.
The company exited fourth-quarter 2017 with $243.8 million of cash and cash equivalents, down from $419.5 million recorded at the end of the prior-year quarter. In addition, as of Dec 31, 2017, the company had $2.3 billion of available borrowing capacity under its primary unsecured credit facility. Furthermore, it extinguished secured debt of $137 million during the reported quarter.
During the fourth-quarter, Welltower generated proceeds of about $89 million with an average price of $67.06 under the ATM and DRIP programs.
2018 Outlook
Welltower has provided guidance for 2018. The company expects normalized FFO per share in the range of $3.95–$4.05. Also, the company anticipates its same-store NOI growth to remain in the range of 1-2%.
Further, in sync with the strategic repositioning of its premier healthcare portfolio, the company expects 2018 disposition to be around $1.3 billion.