W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $74.72 and last traded at $73.8760, with a volume of 46730 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WPC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays set a $65.00 price target on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on W.P. Carey from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Evercore set a $74.00 target price on W.P. Carey in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on W.P. Carey from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.84, a PEG ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $67.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $444.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.28 million. W.P. Carey had a return on equity of 5.67% and a net margin of 27.17%.W.P. Carey’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.130-5.230 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.92 dividend. This is a boost from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 174.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.P. Carey

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,329,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $844,065,000 after buying an additional 119,817 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 lifted its position in W.P. Carey by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,213,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $271,150,000 after acquiring an additional 441,526 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,139,266 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 0.6% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 20,585 shares during the last quarter. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.