NHI Reports Drop in December Occupancy
National Health Investors released another business update, and the news was not great. The REIT’s occupancy growth had started to slow in the fall of 2021, but its latest December averages showed declines across its three major operators when compared with November’s average. Senior Living Communities dropped by 10 basis points across the nine properties it operates for NHI from 81.9% in November to 81.8% in December. Bickford Senior Living’s 42 properties, the largest of the portfolios, saw a 90-basis point decline from 81.8% to 80.9%. Then, the 17 properties operated by Holiday Retirement fell by 190 basis points from 79.1% to 77.2% month over month, the lowest monthly average since... Read More »
Welltower Updates Census Progress
Welltower has the largest owned portfolio of seniors housing communities among the healthcare REITs (SHOP) and census has been steadily rising since the bottom early last year. But the rate of growth, like many others, has been slowing. Average U.S. occupancy growth was 30 basis points in October, 50 basis points in November and zero in December. Spot occupancy for the U.S. portfolio ended December at 77.8%, or 90 basis points above September 30. That’s not too bad for a fourth quarter, but December was disappointing and most likely reflected the holiday season as well as the spreading Omicron variant. Up until December they had had nine consecutive months of increased occupancy. The good... Read More »Ventas Provides Census Update
Ventas has the second largest SHOP portfolio among the healthcare REITs, so it is always a decent barometer for what is actually happening in the seniors housing market. The REIT’s portfolio has performed exceptionally well since the bottom of the market in mid-March 2021, as have most of the providers across the country. The easing of restrictions as well as the vaccine combined for a robust turnaround that we all knew would come at some point. However, we all knew (well, some of us) that the unprecedented net gains in the second and third quarters last year were not sustainable, as much as we would have liked them to be. Call it the pent-up demand or anything else, with portfolios... Read More »
SCOTUS and POTUS
We have to assume that during the remaining three years of President Biden’s term, there will be more battles between POTUS and SCOTUS. But it is getting increasingly difficult to determine who is winning. Take the recent SCOTUS decision upholding the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid payments. We all want healthcare workers to be safe, as well as the patients that they serve. But the timeline given for these healthcare workers to be 80%, then 90%, then 100% vaccinated, or else they lose their jobs, well, is it really going to do anyone any good if the staff at hospitals and nursing homes gets reduced further? The simple answer is, no.... Read More »
Brookdale: Time for a Reverse Split?
Perhaps it is because of the new Omicron variant spreading like wildfire, perhaps occupancy growth has stalled, or perhaps investors are just losing patience for a recovery that would boost the share price. Whatever the reasons, Brookdale Senior Living’s share price has dropped by 30% since mid-November, and it is now below $5.00 per share for the first time since last February. And, the 52-week high was $8.95 per share. Many investors do not like stocks that are below $10 per share, with some funds even prohibited from owning them. A $4 stock, or lower, implies current weakness or poor future performance expectations. To remedy this perception, some companies complete a reverse stock... Read More »Schedule a demo
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