W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.88.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WPC shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of W. P. Carey from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $63.00 price target (up previously from $62.00) on shares of W. P. Carey in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on W. P. Carey from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on W. P. Carey from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on W. P. Carey from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

W. P. Carey Stock Performance

Shares of WPC stock opened at $57.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $59.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.22. W. P. Carey has a 52 week low of $53.09 and a 52 week high of $67.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

W. P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.62). W. P. Carey had a net margin of 35.12% and a return on equity of 6.45%. The company had revenue of $394.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that W. P. Carey will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

W. P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.875 per share. This is a positive change from W. P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. W. P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 137.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of W. P. Carey by 93.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 479 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in W. P. Carey by 1,510.0% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 483 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in W. P. Carey by 175.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 560 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in W. P. Carey during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in W. P. Carey in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. P. Carey Company Profile

W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate, which includes 1,424 net lease properties covering approximately 173 million square feet and a portfolio of 89 self-storage operating properties as of December 31, 2023.