W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) Stock Has Average Target Price of $78.14 According to Brokerages

W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $78.14.

Several research firms recently weighed in on WPC. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on W.P. Carey in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark assumed coverage on W.P. Carey in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Bank of America raised shares of W.P. Carey from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $83.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of W.P. Carey from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of W.P. Carey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $73.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

W.P. Carey Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of WPC stock opened at $63.85 on Tuesday. W.P. Carey has a fifty-two week low of $63.08 and a fifty-two week high of $77.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $70.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.71. 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 company has a market cap of $14.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.76.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is currently 129.69%.

Institutional Trading of W.P. Carey

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,371,801,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,795,604 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $307,913,000 after acquiring an additional 110,306 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in W.P. Carey by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,348,132 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $227,539,000 after acquiring an additional 155,857 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter worth $189,315,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in W.P. Carey in the 4th quarter worth about $184,035,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

About W.P. Carey

W.P. Carey Inc (NYSE: WPC) is a real estate investment trust that owns and manages a diversified portfolio of commercial properties. The company primarily invests in single-tenant, operationally critical properties that are leased to companies under long-term, net lease agreements. These arrangements generally require tenants to pay property taxes, insurance and maintenance costs, subject to the terms of each lease.

Its portfolio has historically included industrial, warehouse, retail, office and self-storage properties, with a focus on assets leased to established businesses across a range of industries.