CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Acquires 14,691 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 312,661 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,691 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.18% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $9,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $83,341,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 237.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position 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 valued at $145,506,000 after buying an additional 1,178,284 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,438,000. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its stake 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 valued at $21,068,000 after buying an additional 671,448 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company's stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE EPRT traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,632,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,418,202. The stock has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08. The company's fifty day moving average price is $31.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.08. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.86 and a 12 month high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. As a group, research analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is 103.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total value of $406,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on EPRT. Capital One Financial initiated coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. B. Riley downgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company 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.