W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $76.97 and last traded at $76.3890, with a volume of 1138667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on WPC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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 Thursday, April 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Evercore set a $74.00 price objective on W.P. Carey in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings raised W.P. Carey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.90.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $73.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a PE ratio of 32.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.76.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.69. W.P. Carey had a net margin of 29.35% and a return on equity of 6.29%. The company had revenue of $454.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $430.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. W.P. Carey’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.160-5.260 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This is a boost from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 160.68%.

Insider Activity at W.P. Carey

In other news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $32,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 13,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,027,268. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.P. Carey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in W.P. Carey by 416.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,892,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $263,014,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,266 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $184,035,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 31,629.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,163,285 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $139,229,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,467 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 1,183.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,130,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $76,381,000 after buying an additional 1,042,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 2,712.0% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 771,534 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,128,000 after buying an additional 744,097 shares in the last quarter. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.