Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC)

W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 19,486 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,919% compared to the typical volume of 965 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WPC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of W.P. Carey from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on W.P. Carey from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on W.P. Carey from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.50.

W.P. Carey Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of WPC stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 668,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,231,023. The stock has a market cap of $14.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25. W.P. Carey has a 52-week low of $52.91 and a 52-week high of $69.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.79.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. W.P. Carey had a return on equity of 4.40% and a net margin of 21.75%.The company had revenue of $431.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.44 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. W.P. Carey’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.930-4.990 EPS. Research analysts predict that W.P. Carey will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is currently 220.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.P. Carey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 416.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,892,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $263,014,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139,266 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in W.P. Carey in the second quarter worth about $151,411,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 1,183.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,130,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $76,381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,334 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 2,712.0% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 771,534 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,128,000 after purchasing an additional 744,097 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 331.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 861,430 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,207,000 after purchasing an additional 661,572 shares during the last quarter. 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.