Why W.P. Carey Deserves a Spot in Your Portfolio Right Now

W.P. Carey’s WPC is poised to benefit from a high-quality, mission-critical, diversified portfolio of single-tenant net lease commercial real estate in the United States and Northern and Western Europe. Its specialty in long-term sale-leaseback transactions with contractual rental bumps leads to steady revenue generation. Strategic portfolio repositioning efforts appear promising. A solid balance sheet aids future growth endeavors.Last month, WPC reported third-quarter 2025 adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share of $1.25, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.23. The figure improved 5.9% from the year-ago quarter.Results reflected higher revenues, aided by strong investment activity and a disciplined disposition strategy. WPC raised its full-year 2025 AFFO per share guidance.Analysts seem bullish about this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 AFFO per share being revised northward by one cent over the past month to $4.92.WPC shares have rallied 23.6% year to date, outperforming the industry’s growth of 5.8%.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchFactors That Make W.P. Carey Stock a Solid PickHigh-Quality, Mission-Critical Portfolio: W.P. Carey invests in high-quality assets that are mission-critical for its tenants’ operations. The company specializes in sale-leaseback transactions, whereby it acquires critical real estate and then leases it back to the seller on a long-term, triple-net basis. Under this arrangement, the lessee needs to pay the majority of the operational and maintenance costs for the property. As such, due to the inherent nature of its portfolio, the REIT enjoys higher occupancy, which stood at 97% as of Sept. 30, 2025, and generates better risk-adjusted returns.Diverse Tenant Base and Contractual Rent Escalators: W.P. Carey’s portfolio is well-diversified by tenant, industry, property type and geography, aiding steady revenue generation. As of Sept. 30, 2025, its top 10 tenants constitute 18.6% of ABR. Moreover, the existence of long-term net leases with built-in rent escalations yields stable cash flows. The company witnessed contractual same-store rent growth of 2.4% in the third quarter of 2025.Expansionary Efforts: W.P. Carey has been capitalizing on growth opportunities. The total investment value from the beginning of the year through Oct. 27 reached $1.6 billion, and the disposition volume was around $1 billion. The sale would largely include non-core assets comprising self-storage operating properties. The gross sale proceeds are to be used for funding value-accretive investments. Such match-funding efforts indicate the company’s prudent capital-management practices and will relieve pressure from its balance sheet, which is encouraging.Balance Sheet Strength:  W.P. Carey has a healthy balance sheet position with ample liquidity. As of Sept. 30, 2025, the company had a total liquidity of $2.1 billion, including around $1.6 billion of available capacity under its senior unsecured credit facility. The company’s share of pro rata net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 5.9X. The company also enjoys investment-grade ratings of BBB+ from S&P Global Ratings and Baa1 from Moody’s, rendering it favorable access to the debt market.Steady Dividend Payouts: Solid dividend payouts are arguably the biggest enticement for investment in REIT stocks, and W.P. Carey remains committed to them. After reducing its dividend in December 2023 to 86 cents from the prior quarter's dividend payment of $1.07 as a result of the company’s strategic plan to exit its office assets, W.P. Carey increased its dividend five times, which is encouraging.Specifically, in September 2025, the company’s board announced a regular quarterly dividend of 91 cents per share, indicating a 1.1% hike from 90 cents paid a quarter ago. Looking at the company’s operating environment and financial position compared to that of the industry, its current dividend is expected to be sustainable in the upcoming period.Other Stocks to ConsiderSome other top-ranked stocks from the broader REIT sector are Cousins Properties CUZ and Digital Realty Trust DLR, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CUZ’s 2025 FFO per share is pinned at $2.83, indicating year-over-year growth of 5.2%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DLR’s 2025 FFO per share stands at $7.35, calling for an increase of 9.5% from the year-ago reported figure.Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.#1 Semiconductor Stock to Buy (Not NVDA)The incredible demand for data is fueling the market's next digital gold rush. As data centers continue to be built and constantly upgraded, the companies that provide the hardware for these behemoths will become the NVIDIAs of tomorrow.One under-the-radar chipmaker is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. It specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Cousins Properties Incorporated (CUZ): Free Stock Analysis Report Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR): Free Stock Analysis Report W.P. Carey Inc. (WPC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks