Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC Acquires 3,910 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,138,565 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,910 shares during the period. Essential Properties Realty Trust comprises approximately 2.1% of Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC owned about 0.65% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $38,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total transaction 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 represents a 5.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $33.41 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.73. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.38. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $34.88. The company has a quick ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 5.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho increased their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $36.25 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.44.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Profile

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.