Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Shares Sold by NFJ Investment Group LLC

NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,012 shares of the company’s stock after selling 675 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $1,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EPRT. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 118.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,176,000 after buying an additional 161,697 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $287,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 94,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,946,000 after purchasing an additional 26,234 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,594,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,462,000 after purchasing an additional 98,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,872,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,866,000 after purchasing an additional 43,179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

EPRT stock opened at $32.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.13. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.82 and a 52 week high of $34.88. The stock has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a current ratio of 5.36.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. Research analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 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, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 103.51%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at $5,817,663.90. This represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Capital One Financial initiated coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. B. Riley lowered Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company 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.