UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) Stock Price

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) had its target price lifted by UBS Group from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on WPC. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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. Evercore set a $74.00 target price on W.P. Carey in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on W.P. Carey from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on W.P. Carey from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.P. Carey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.11.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

WPC stock opened at $72.38 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.12 and a 200-day moving average of $68.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.76. W.P. Carey has a 12 month low of $54.24 and a 12 month high of $75.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. W.P. Carey’s revenue 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.P. Carey will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is a boost from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is 174.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.P. Carey

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in W.P. Carey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,329,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $844,065,000 after purchasing an additional 119,817 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in W.P. Carey by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,795,604 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $307,913,000 after buying an additional 110,306 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in W.P. Carey by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,213,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $271,150,000 after buying an additional 441,526 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,904,767 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $251,311,000 after buying an additional 12,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,192,275 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $205,462,000 after buying an additional 20,585 shares during the last quarter. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.