W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) Short Interest Down 13.5% in December

W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,630,000 shares, a decline of 13.5% from the November 30th total of 3,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

W. P. Carey Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WPC opened at $54.60 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. W. P. Carey has a 12 month low of $53.09 and a 12 month high of $67.40.

W. P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.62). The company had revenue of $394.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.43 million. W. P. Carey had a net margin of 35.12% and a return on equity of 6.45%. The business’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that W. P. Carey will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

W. P. Carey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is an increase from W. P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. W. P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 138.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of W. P. Carey in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of W. P. Carey from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $63.00 target price (up previously from $62.00) on shares of W. P. Carey in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of W. P. Carey from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $59.00 price objective (up previously from $56.00) on shares of W. P. Carey in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of W. P. Carey by 1,510.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 483 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in W. P. Carey by 175.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 560 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in W. P. Carey in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in W. P. Carey by 35.9% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 651 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of W. P. Carey by 2,374.1% during the third quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.