W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) Shares Break Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.84 and traded as high as $66.22. W.P. Carey shares last traded at $65.9560, with a volume of 1,528,279 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on W.P. Carey from $80.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Evercore set a $75.00 price objective on W.P. Carey in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on W.P. Carey from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on W.P. Carey in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on W.P. Carey in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.79.

W.P. Carey Trading Up 1.4%

The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $15.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.70.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $468.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $457.57 million. W.P. Carey had a net margin of 35.60% and a return on equity of 7.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. This is an increase from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is 131.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.P. Carey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WPC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,371,801,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 4.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,348,132 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $227,539,000 after acquiring an additional 155,857 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the second quarter valued at approximately $189,315,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 1.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $159,974,000 after acquiring an additional 37,649 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 3.0% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,270,499 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $162,341,000 after acquiring an additional 65,284 shares during the period. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About W.P. Carey

W.P. Carey Inc is a real estate investment trust that owns and manages commercial properties leased to businesses under long-term net leases. Under these arrangements, tenants typically pay property expenses such as taxes, insurance and maintenance in addition to rent.

The company’s portfolio focuses primarily on industrial and warehouse properties, along with retail and self-storage facilities. Its properties serve tenants in the United States and Europe. In 2023, W.P. Carey separated its office properties into a new, publicly traded company as part of a shift toward its other property types.

Founded in 1973 by William Polk Carey, the company converted to a REIT in 2012.