W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.95

W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of 0.95 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, October 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This is a 1.1% increase from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94.

W.P. Carey has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. W.P. Carey has a dividend payout ratio of 139.8% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect W.P. Carey to earn $5.27 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 71.3%.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

NYSE WPC opened at $66.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.15. The company has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.75. W.P. Carey has a 1-year low of $63.08 and a 1-year high of $77.22.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.P. Carey

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WPC. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in W.P. Carey by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 153,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,429,000 after acquiring an additional 27,734 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 75,253 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of W.P. Carey during the fourth quarter worth about $41,638,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 922,540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,370,000 after purchasing an additional 71,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 2.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,365,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $92,815,000 after purchasing an additional 31,476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

W.P. Carey Company Profile

W.P. Carey Inc (NYSE: WPC) is a diversified real estate investment trust that owns and manages a portfolio of commercial properties leased to companies under long-term, primarily net lease agreements. Under these arrangements, tenants generally assume responsibility for property taxes, insurance and maintenance, allowing W.P. Carey to generate contractual rental income.

The company invests in and provides sale-leaseback and build-to-suit financing solutions for businesses. Its portfolio has historically included industrial and warehouse facilities, retail properties, office buildings, self-storage facilities and other commercial real estate.