Welltower Inc (HCN): A High-Yield Medical REIT Blue Chip

A great way of building long-term wealth is to ride secular mega-trends. One of the largest of these is the aging of America’s population, which is expected to see the population of those of 75 years of age double over the next two decades.

Source: Welltower Investor Presentation

Thanks to improvements in medical care, people are not just living longer, but consuming more and more medical resources as they age. In fact, as you can see, the amount of annual per capita healthcare spending rises exponentially the older you become.

This means that investing in certain companies involved with healthcare can be a great way to profit over time from this major economic shift. One way of doing this is with high-quality, dividend growth blue chips such as Welltower Inc (NYSE:HCN), America’s largest medical Real Estate Investment Trust, or REIT. Investors can learn more about REITs and how to evaluate them here.

Let’s take an in-depth look at how this venerable company has enriched long-term dividend lovers for decades and, more importantly, why that impressive track record is likely to continue in the coming years.

Business Description

As you can see below, Welltower is extremely well diversified, owning a total of 1,486 properties located primarily in major cities across the US, Canada, and the UK.

The company is involved in every aspect of patient care, from hospitals and long-term skilled nursing facilities to senior assisted living communities and medical office buildings, or MOBs. As health care continues to move to lower cost settings, many of Welltower’s properties should benefit.