Despite Disappointing Q2, WPC Remains Safe

As usual, we keep our eyes open for the most potentially profitable REITs. W.P. Carey fell on our radar. Let's take a quick look at what we discovered.

1. Despite having poor Q2 results, W. P. Carey (WPC) appears to be solid choice amid several overvalued REITs.
2. The stock has performed better than Vanguard REIT ETF and is in sync with the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs.
3. The portfolio is geared towards traditional REIT sectors (self-storage, industrial, retail, and office).
4. The company continues to move forward with their full year guidance.
5. This diverse portfolio has overseas ties.

Unlike June and July, when REITs were performing well, the month of August has not been that kind to REITs. More popular sectors such as self-storage, net lease retail, and data centers have begun to fall off. Yet, it has been difficult to spot good buying opportunities. This has encouraged us to showcase a fairly valued stock that may be a good choice for a REIT.

W.P. Carey (WPC) has generated an 18% return at this point. This is better than the more popular Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ). Also, Vanguard's dividend yield was 3.2%, while the dividend yield for W.P. Carey was 5.6%. The stocks we monitor from the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs have returned on average 18%.

It is clear that WPC is not as diversified as those indices (which totals more than 150 stocks), but it is important to point out that they are diversified. The REIT has split its investments in conventional sectors such as office, retail, self-storage, and industrial. U-Haul is one of their top customers and their lease terms can go as far as twenty-five years.

This portfolio has a two-thirds stake in domestic investments (spread evenly across U.S. regions) and a third in international. They have a small stake in the United Kingdom so Brexit should not be a big deal for the REIT. The management does not believe the currency fluctuations will have an impact on the company's success. Most of the company's earnings come from owned properties, but they also manage REITs for other entities.

During the anticipated release of their Q2 results this month, the firm revealed that their AFFO per share dropped 5% year over year. They indicated that the managed REIT segment generated a smaller amount of investment and debt placement transactions, reducing structuring revenues. Despite this drop in activity, their owned REIT segment performance continues to stay strong. They also revealed that their full year AFFO guidance is at an acceptable midpoint of $5.10 per share. This gives us a multiple of 14 times AFFO, which is on pace with the REIT's historic multiple.

Despite its recent disappointing results, WPC remains a safe choice.

Source: W. P. Carey Inc.WPC

Written on 11 Aug 2016

Disclaimer: This newsletter is not engaged in rendering tax, accounting, or other professional advice through this publication. No statement in this issue is to be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security or other investment. Please do your own due diligence before making any investment decision. Some information presented in this publication has been obtained from third-party sources considered to be reliable. Sources are not required to make representations as to the accuracy of the information, however, and consequently the publisher cannot guarantee accuracy.

Disclosure: The author is long FCH, XHR, CLDT, and PEB.