Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Purchases 36,214 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 31.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,742 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 36,214 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $4,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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 last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,834.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,180 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 439.4% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,451 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 275.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Essential Properties Realty Trust stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.24. 312,197 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,429,048. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.59 and a 200 day moving average of $31.96. 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 1-year low of $26.07 and a 1-year high of $34.88. The company has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.09.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $129.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors 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 yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 102.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 178,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,817,663.90. This 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. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 objective on the stock. Scotiabank raised their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group decreased their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. B. Riley downgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three equities 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.77.

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.