WELL - Is HCP a Buy?
The aging of the baby boom generation is the long-term demographic story that's backstopped diversified healthcare real estate investment trusts (REIT) like HCP (NYSE: HCP) for years. According to competitor Ventas (NYSE: VTR), a key market is getting close to turning from oversupplied to undersupplied, which will push up demand for one of HCP's key divisions. Is that enough to make it a buy for dividend focused investors, or is there more going on here?
HCP's stock is up around 26% this year, right in line with Ventas and a touch lower than the 29% advance by Welltower (NYSE: WELL), the third big player in the diversified healthcare REIT space. In other words, HCP is running right alongside its closest peers. However, look a little further and the numbers start to diverge.
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