W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $75.69 and last traded at $75.5810, with a volume of 500434 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $73.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Evercore set a $74.00 target price on W.P. Carey in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.P. Carey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.90.

W.P. Carey Trading Up 1.8%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a PE ratio of 32.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $454.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $430.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’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 analysts expect that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.97%.

Insider Transactions at W.P. Carey

In other W.P. Carey news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $32,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,027,268. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.P. Carey

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WPC. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the second quarter worth about $30,000. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.