Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Short Interest Update

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,060,000 shares, an increase of 9.4% from the October 31st total of 18,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,220,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 16.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EPRT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted 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 research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $36.25 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.44.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPRT traded up $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.28. The stock had a trading volume of 154,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,317,626. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.81. 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 has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $34.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.38.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its earnings results 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 firm 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 was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 100.87%.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total value 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 $14,421,637.08. This trade represents a 5.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPRT. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 30.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 31,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 7,339 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $448,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the third quarter worth about $216,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,468,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,642,000 after purchasing an additional 118,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $69,473,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

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.