Covestor Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Covestor Ltd lowered its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,149 shares of the company’s stock after selling 769 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EPRT. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth $21,438,000. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 32,343.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 673,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,068,000 after purchasing an additional 671,448 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,651,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,284 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 237.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,100,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 6,168 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EPRT traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $29.92. 169,001 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,391,354. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.72 and a 52 week high of $34.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.23. The company has a quick ratio of 5.36, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 103.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at $5,817,663.90. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EPRT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. B. Riley lowered Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.91.

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.