W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) Receives $79.38 Average Price Target from Analysts

W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.3846.

Several research analysts have commented on WPC shares. Wolfe Research raised W.P. Carey from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.P. Carey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. 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 research report on Monday, June 1st.

Institutional Trading of W.P. Carey

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,371,801,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 6,982.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 27,759,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,984,816,000 after purchasing an additional 27,367,721 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in W.P. Carey by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,329,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $844,065,000 after purchasing an additional 119,817 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 110,306 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in W.P. Carey by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,904,767 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $251,311,000 after purchasing an additional 12,305 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

Shares of W.P. Carey stock opened at $70.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. W.P. Carey has a twelve month low of $63.08 and a twelve month high of $77.22. The stock has a market cap of $16.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s fifty day moving average is $72.24 and its 200 day moving average is $72.46.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a boost from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is 128.33%.

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.