TOLEDO, Ohio, Oct. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Welltower Inc.
(NYSE: WELL) announced today that Moody's Investors Service
("Moody's") has revised its rating outlook for Welltower to Stable
from Negative and affirmed Welltower's issuer credit rating as
'Baa1'. Moody's emphasized that the stable outlook reflects steady
improvement in the seniors housing operating portfolio and a
continued recovery in cash flows. Notably, the Company's seniors
housing operating portfolio has already reported occupancy gains of
380 basis points (bps) since trough occupancy on March 12, 2021, led by the US and UK portfolios
which have reported occupancy gains of 520 basis points and 440
basis points, respectively1. Moody's also noted that
given the strong demographic trends driving demand and declining
levels of new supply, the long-term fundamentals for the seniors
housing business remain positive.
In addition to the continued recovery in the seniors housing
operating business, Moody's highlighted the Company's excellent
liquidity position and commitment to strong financial governance
through the pandemic, including funding investment activity through
asset sales and common equity issuances to manage leverage levels.
The Company has continued to maintain a sound capital structure,
ending 2Q21 with $4.8 billion of
liquidity, including a $4.0 billion
undrawn revolving credit facility. In its report, Moody's noted
that the management team's commitment to its financial policies and
the steady recovery in operating fundamentals will lead to
continued improvement in leverage levels over the next year.
"We are pleased with Moody's upgrade of our rating outlook to
stable," commented Tim McHugh, Welltower's Chief
Financial Officer. "This outlook upgrade from a second rating
agency validates the prudent measures Welltower has taken
to maintain strong liquidity and balance sheet strength through the
COVID-19 pandemic. The proven liquidity of our asset class along
with our leading access to public and private capital allowed the
Company to mitigate risk as uncertainty increased and move quickly
to capture significant value as fundamentals have begun to
improve."
Moody's full report on Welltower can be found on Moody's website
at www.moodys.com.
About Welltower
Welltower® Inc. (NYSE: WELL), an S&P 500 company
headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health
care infrastructure. The Company invests with leading seniors
housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund
the real estate and infrastructure needed to scale innovative care
delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health
care experience. Welltower, a real estate investment trust
("REIT"), owns interests in properties concentrated in major,
high-growth markets in the United States, Canada and
the United Kingdom, consisting of seniors housing, post-acute
communities and outpatient medical properties. More information is
available at www.welltower.com
1 As of September 3,
2021
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SOURCE Welltower Inc.