W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $77.05 and last traded at $76.9430, with a volume of 133135 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WPC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of W.P. Carey from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.P. Carey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.77.

W.P. Carey Stock Down 0.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $461.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $452.80 million. W.P. Carey had a return on equity of 6.29% and a net margin of 29.35%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 160.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Brian H. Zander sold 433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 13,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,027,268. This trade represents a 3.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WPC. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in W.P. Carey by 22.1% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 153,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,429,000 after buying an additional 27,734 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in W.P. Carey by 124.2% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 135,849 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,743,000 after buying an additional 75,253 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,638,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 372.8% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 46,644 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,002,000 after acquiring an additional 36,779 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,922,000. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.