W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC Stock Position Increased by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp increased its position in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,635,484 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 122,919 shares during the period. W.P. Carey accounts for approximately 1.5% of Equity Investment Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Equity Investment Corp owned about 0.71% of W.P. Carey worth $105,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 15.9% in the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 33,387 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,158,000 after purchasing an additional 4,576 shares during the period. M&G PLC acquired a new position in shares of W.P. Carey during the 3rd quarter worth about $257,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its stake in W.P. Carey by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 5,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in W.P. Carey by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 234,980 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,187,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605 shares during the period. Finally, M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new stake in W.P. Carey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $218,000. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WPC shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised W.P. Carey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on W.P. Carey in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of W.P. Carey from $75.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.P. Carey presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.79.

W.P. Carey Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE WPC opened at $65.42 on Wednesday. W.P. Carey Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.19 and a twelve month high of $77.22. The stock has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.09). The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 5.07 EPS for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This is a boost from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. W.P. Carey’s payout ratio is 131.03%.

W.P. Carey Profile

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.