Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in W.P. Carey Inc. $WPC

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group purchased 23,437 shares of W.P. Carey during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.68 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 73.73% of the REIT.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with seven Buy ratings, six Holds and one Sell; the consensus rating is Hold with a target price of $79.38.
• W.P. Carey raised its quarterly dividend to $0.94 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.76 payout and a 5.3% yield, although its dividend payout ratio stands at 128.33%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 23,437 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,676,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WPC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in W.P. Carey during the 2nd quarter worth $2,371,801,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of W.P. Carey by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,329,159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $844,065,000 after acquiring an additional 119,817 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.P. Carey by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,795,604 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $307,913,000 after acquiring an additional 110,306 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in W.P. Carey by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,904,767 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $251,311,000 after acquiring an additional 12,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in W.P. Carey by 4.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,348,132 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $227,539,000 after purchasing an additional 155,857 shares during the period. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WPC. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on W.P. Carey from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of W.P. Carey from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on W.P. Carey from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on W.P. Carey from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.38.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

Shares of WPC opened at $70.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22. W.P. Carey Inc. has a twelve month low of $63.08 and a twelve month high of $77.22. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $72.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.56. The firm has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.07, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.75.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from W.P. Carey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. W.P. Carey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.33%.

W.P. Carey Company Profile

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.

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