W. P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) Stock Price Up 3.3% - Here's Why

W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Get Free Report) shares shot up 3.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $63.37 and last traded at $63.85. 174,941 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,160,259 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded W. P. Carey from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of W. P. Carey from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank raised their price target on W. P. Carey from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on W. P. Carey from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on W. P. Carey from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.75.

W. P. Carey Trading Down 3.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $60.59 and a 200-day moving average of $58.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.27, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.95.

W. P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. This is a boost from W. P. Carey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. W. P. Carey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 170.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W. P. Carey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DF Dent & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W. P. Carey by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 5,464 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W. P. Carey by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 44,381 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of W. P. Carey by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,698 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W. P. Carey by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,778 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group grew its stake in shares of W. P. Carey by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 11,905 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About W. P. Carey

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.