W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) Upgraded to Outperform at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Raymond James Financial currently has $76.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

WPC has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on W.P. Carey from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on W.P. Carey from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on W.P. Carey from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.90.

W.P. Carey Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE WPC opened at $71.67 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.23. W.P. Carey has a 12 month low of $54.24 and a 12 month high of $75.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.97, a PEG ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.76.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $444.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.28 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.130-5.230 EPS. On average, analysts predict that W.P. Carey will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is currently 174.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.P. Carey

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in W.P. Carey by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,329,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $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 worth $307,913,000 after acquiring an additional 110,306 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in W.P. Carey by 11.7% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 441,526 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in W.P. Carey by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,904,767 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $251,311,000 after acquiring an additional 12,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in W.P. Carey by 0.6% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 20,585 shares during the last quarter. 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.