Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $13.21 Million Stock Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 386,711 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 56,929 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $13,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EPRT. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 95.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the second quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 611.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the period. 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 lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EPRT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wedbush initiated coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Monday, August 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $36.25 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,421,637.08. The trade was a 5.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of EPRT stock opened at $33.47 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.49. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.10, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.37. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.42 and a 12 month high of $34.51.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $117.13 million during 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%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 100.87%.

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.