Health Care REIT Inc. ( HCN ) acquired Gracewell assets in August with Sunrise Senior Living. The company also unveiled a plan to acquire HealthLease Properties REIT through a transaction valued at around $950 million in cash, including debt. <\/p>\n
Further, Health Care REIT announced its projected acquisition pipeline, worth around $1.7 billion of properties, for the second half of 2014. We believe that such strategic portfolio acquisitions would serve as growth drivers for the company. <\/p>\n
Moreover, in August, Health Care REIT came out with second-quarter normalized funds from operations (FFO) of $1.06 per share, a nickel ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate and up 13 cents year over year. Results were primarily driven by growth in same-store net operating income (NOI) and notable portfolio investments in premium assets. <\/p>\n
The company also increased its full year 2014 normalized FFO per share guidance range to $4.05-$4.15 from $4.03-$4.13 guided earlier, denoting a 6%-9% increase from 2013. <\/p>\n
Going forward, the company's strategic portfolio-restructuring activities and enhanced financial flexibility bode well for its growth. In addition, a rise in senior citizen spending for healthcare reasons promises strong future prospects. Also, the guidance increase serves to boost shareholders' confidence. <\/p>\n
The Gracewell Healthcare properties acquisition, in particular, would help the company to capitalize on the attractive demographics of Greater London and Southern England markets, apart from enhancing its private-pay seniors housing portfolio base. On the other hand, the HealthLease acquisition deal would bring on board 53 high-quality seniors housing, post-acute care and long-term care communities, concentrated across North Carolina, IN, and Alberta, Canada. <\/p>\n
However, an anticipated rise in interest rate in the long term and intense competition remain the pressing concerns. <\/p>\n
Echoing similar sentiments, over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2014 remained unchanged at $4.13, while that for 2015 moved up a 2 cents to $4.35 per share. Health Care REIT currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). <\/p>\n
To gain a deeper insight into Health Care REIT, you can refer to our updated research report issued on Oct 9, 2014. <\/p>\n
Other Stocks to Consider <\/p>\n
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Can Health Care REIT Ride Growth Curve on Acquisitions? - Analyst Blog<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Health Care REIT Inc. ( HCN ) acquired Gracewell assets in August with Sunrise Senior Living. Continue reading