Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 233,323 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,692 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $7,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,834.4% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,180 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 215.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 439.4% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,451 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on EPRT shares. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank cut their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. B. Riley downgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.91.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

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 stock was 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 directly owns 178,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,817,663.90. This represents a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE EPRT traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.82. 1,175,051 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,428,469. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.91, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 5.36. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.07 and a fifty-two week high of $34.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.02.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. The business had revenue of $129.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio 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.