W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) Price Target Raised to $77.00

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) had its target price lifted by Scotiabank from $76.00 to $77.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BNP Paribas Exane raised W.P. Carey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $88.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on W.P. Carey from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.38.

W.P. Carey Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE WPC opened at $71.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $16.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.10 and a 200-day moving average of $72.43. W.P. Carey has a 1-year low of $63.08 and a 1-year high of $77.22.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. This is an increase from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.33%.

Institutional Trading of W.P. Carey

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in W.P. Carey during the second quarter worth about $76,910,000. Invst LLC bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the second quarter worth about $702,000. First Bancorp Inc ME acquired a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,191,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $67,142,000. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.