State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 774 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,294 shares of the company’s stock after selling 774 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $2,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 95.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 611.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 122.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 116.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE EPRT opened at $33.06 on Thursday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.00 and a 12-month high of $34.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.14. The company has a quick ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 5.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.37.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.16). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 46.00% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The company had revenue of $117.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.73 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 100.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total value of $899,323.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,076 shares in the company, valued at $14,421,637.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on EPRT. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $36.25 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.83.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc, a real estate company, acquires, owns, and manages single-tenant properties in the United States. The company leases its properties to middle-market companies, such as restaurants, car washes, automotive services, medical and dental services, convenience stores, equipment rental, entertainment, early childhood education, grocery, and health and fitness on a long-term basis.