Brokerages Set W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) Price Target at $79.38

Shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $79.3846.

A number of research firms have recently commented on WPC. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded W.P. Carey from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.P. Carey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on W.P. Carey from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a report on Wednesday, July 29th.

W.P. Carey Price Performance

Shares of WPC opened at $70.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.07, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.43. W.P. Carey has a twelve month low of $63.08 and a twelve month high of $77.22.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of W.P. Carey

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the second quarter worth $2,371,801,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in 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 worth $1,984,816,000 after acquiring an additional 27,367,721 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,139,266 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey during the 4th quarter valued at about $184,035,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the second quarter worth $189,315,000. 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.