Critical Review: Klépierre (OTCMKTS:KLPEF) versus W. P. Carey (NYSE:WPC)

Klépierre (OTCMKTS:KLPEF) and W. P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Klépierre has a beta of 1.5, meaning that its stock price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, W. P. Carey has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Klépierre and W. P. Carey’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Klépierre	N/A	N/A	N/A
W. P. Carey	40.68%	7.78%	3.80%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

73.7% of W. P. Carey shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of W. P. Carey shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Klépierre and W. P. Carey, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Klépierre	1	2	1	0	2.00
W. P. Carey	2	8	1	0	1.91

W. P. Carey has a consensus price target of $63.36, suggesting a potential upside of 12.27%. Given W. P. Carey’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe W. P. Carey is more favorable than Klépierre.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Klépierre and W. P. Carey’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Klépierre	$1.30 billion	N/A	$437.45 million	N/A	N/A
W. P. Carey	$1.74 billion	7.09	$708.33 million	$3.30	17.10

W. P. Carey has higher revenue and earnings than Klépierre.

Summary

W. P. Carey beats Klépierre on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Klépierre

Klépierre SA is the European leader in shopping malls, combining property development and asset management skills. The Company's portfolio is valued at 19.3 billion at December 31, 2023, and comprises large shopping centers in more than 10 countries in Continental Europe which together host hundreds of millions of visitors per year. Klépierre SA holds a controlling stake in Steen & Strøm (56.1%), Scandinavia's number one shopping center owner and manager. Klépierre SA is a French REIT (SIIC) listed on Euronext Paris and is included in the CAC Next 20 and EPRA Euro Zone Indexes. It is also included in ethical indexes, such as Euronext CAC 40 ESG, Euronext CAC SBT 1.5, MSCI Europe ESG Leaders, FTSE4Good, Euronext Vigeo Europe 120, and features in CDP's A-list. These distinctions underscore the Group's commitment to a proactive sustainable development policy and its global leadership in the fight against climate change.

About W. P. Carey

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. With offices in New York, London, Amsterdam and Dallas, the company remains focused on investing primarily in single-tenant, industrial, warehouse and retail properties located in the U.S. and Northern and Western Europe, under long-term net leases with built-in rent escalations.