W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $69.40.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore lowered their target price on W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of W.P. Carey from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.P. Carey

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WPC. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

W.P. Carey Trading Up 1.5%

WPC opened at $74.17 on Monday. W.P. Carey has a twelve month low of $54.24 and a twelve month high of $74.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.47 and a 200-day moving average of $67.13. The stock has a market cap of $16.26 billion, a PE ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 0.78.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. W.P. Carey had a net margin of 27.17% and a return on equity of 5.67%. The business had revenue of $444.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. W.P. Carey’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.130-5.230 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.P. Carey will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 174.41%.

About W.P. Carey

W. P. Carey Inc is a diversified net-lease real estate investment trust specializing in single-tenant commercial properties. The company structures sale-leaseback and build-to-suit transactions to provide long-term net lease financing across a variety of asset classes, including industrial facilities, office buildings, retail centers and self-storage facilities. By employing triple net leases, W. P. Carey transfers property operating expenses, taxes and maintenance responsibility to tenants, creating a stable, predictable income stream for investors.

Founded in 1973 by William Polk Carey, the firm has expanded organically and through strategic mergers and acquisitions.