Ameriprise Financial Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 899,771 shares of the company's stock after selling 76,003 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.51% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $28,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $83,341,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 237.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,100,485 shares of the company's stock worth $65,703,000 after buying an additional 1,478,451 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,651,728 shares of the company's stock worth $145,506,000 after buying an additional 1,178,284 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $21,438,000. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 32,343.4% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 673,524 shares of the company's stock worth $21,068,000 after buying an additional 671,448 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total transaction of $959,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 218,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,998,932.15. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EPRT shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. 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 objective on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.77.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

EPRT traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $32.44. The stock had a trading volume of 911,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,432,572. The company has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.63 and a 200 day moving average of $31.95. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.07 and a 1 year high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $129.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $124.88 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.61%.

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.