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W.P. Carey (WPC) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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W.P. Carey (WPC - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $83.97, moving +1.78% from the previous trading session. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.89%. At the same time, the Dow added 1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 10%.

Heading into today, shares of the real estate investment trust had gained 4.71% over the past month, lagging the Finance sector's gain of 5.45% and outpacing the S&P 500's gain of 2.3% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from W.P. Carey as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.29, down 0.77% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $398.15 million, up 6.21% from the year-ago period.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for W.P. Carey should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. W.P. Carey currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

Looking at its valuation, W.P. Carey is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 15.55. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 11.9, so we one might conclude that W.P. Carey is trading at a premium comparatively.

Investors should also note that WPC has a PEG ratio of 12.74 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The REIT and Equity Trust - Other was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.06 at yesterday's closing price.

The REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 202, putting it in the bottom 20% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow WPC in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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