W. P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $58.00 to $66.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. W. P. Carey traded as high as $66.10 and last traded at $65.53, with a volume of 55911 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.77.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on W. P. Carey from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised W. P. Carey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lowered their target price on W. P. Carey from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of W. P. Carey from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of W. P. Carey in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W. P. Carey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W. P. Carey

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of W. P. Carey during the 4th quarter valued at $139,381,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in W. P. Carey by 660.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,054,080 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $127,969,000 after buying an additional 1,784,131 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of W. P. Carey by 10,001.1% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 998,292 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,387,000 after buying an additional 988,409 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of W. P. Carey by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,022,953 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $219,170,000 after buying an additional 906,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of W. P. Carey by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,641,229 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $143,894,000 after acquiring an additional 758,627 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

W. P. Carey Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $57.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.95.

W. P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from W. P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. W. P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 168.42%.

W. P. Carey Company Profile

W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate, which includes 1,424 net lease properties covering approximately 173 million square feet and a portfolio of 89 self-storage operating properties as of December 31, 2023.