Short Interest in W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) Declines By 18.5%

W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,890,000 shares, a decline of 18.5% from the March 31st total of 7,230,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

W. P. Carey Stock Performance

WPC traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $55.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,150,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,351,863. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. W. P. Carey has a fifty-two week low of $51.36 and a fifty-two week high of $74.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.86.

W. P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.14. W. P. Carey had a return on equity of 7.78% and a net margin of 40.68%. The company had revenue of $410.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $413.04 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W. P. Carey will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

W. P. Carey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.865 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $3.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.21%. This is a positive change from W. P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. W. P. Carey’s payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WPC. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of W. P. Carey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of W. P. Carey during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in W. P. Carey in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in W. P. Carey during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. P. Carey during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 73.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WPC. Raymond James cut shares of W. P. Carey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on W. P. Carey from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of W. P. Carey from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of W. P. Carey from $66.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on W. P. Carey in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.36.

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.