W. P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) Sets New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $64.71 and last traded at $64.75, with a volume of 119685 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WPC shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of W. P. Carey from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of W. P. Carey from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of W. P. Carey in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of W. P. Carey from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of W. P. Carey from $59.00 to $56.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.38.

W. P. Carey Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.15 billion, a PE ratio of 30.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $56.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

W. P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.44%. This is an increase from W. P. Carey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. W. P. Carey's payout ratio is presently 168.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service purchased a new position in shares of W. P. Carey in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Maia Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. P. Carey in the third quarter worth $40,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. P. Carey in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W. P. Carey in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. P. Carey in the third quarter worth $44,000. 73.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. P. Carey Company Profile

W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate, which includes 1,424 net lease properties covering approximately 173 million square feet and a portfolio of 89 self-storage operating properties as of December 31, 2023.