W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $75.60 and last traded at $75.5010, with a volume of 242104 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of W.P. Carey from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays set a $65.00 target price on W.P. Carey in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore set a $74.00 price target on W.P. Carey in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.P. Carey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.00.

W.P. Carey Trading Up 0.5%

The stock has a market cap of $16.36 billion, a PE ratio of 35.37, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $69.09 and its 200-day moving average is $67.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14.

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

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is an increase from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 174.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.P. Carey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 416.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,892,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $263,014,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,266 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the fourth quarter worth about $184,035,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 31,629.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,163,285 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $139,229,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,467 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 1,183.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,130,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $76,381,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 2,712.0% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 771,534 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,128,000 after acquiring an additional 744,097 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

W.P. Carey Company Profile

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.