Bank of New York Mellon Corp Makes New Investment in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon purchased 1.71 million shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth approximately $51.2 million, acquiring a 0.79% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 96.98% of EPRT.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $36.20, compared with the stock’s recent price of $30.43.
• EPRT exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while raising its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share—an annualized yield of about 4.2%—despite insider selling by its COO.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,714,032 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,164,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.79% of Essential Properties Realty Trust as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EPRT. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 82.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 899 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 664.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 273.6% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,009.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,730 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $36.25 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Robert M. Jenkins sold 22,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.22, for a total value of $708,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 34,168 shares in the company, valued at $1,100,892.96. This trade represents a 39.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE EPRT opened at $30.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 8.17, a quick ratio of 8.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.95 and a 12 month high of $34.73. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $31.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.53.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 6.34%. The firm had revenue of $161.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $156.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.010-2.050 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.22%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Profile

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc NYSE: EPRT is a self-administered real estate investment trust that acquires, owns and manages single-tenant commercial properties subject to long-term, triple-net leases. The company’s portfolio primarily consists of small-box retail and industrial assets, including convenience stores, automotive service centers, quick-service restaurants, fitness centers and other necessity-based businesses. Under a triple-net lease structure, tenants assume responsibility for property taxes, insurance and most maintenance expenses, providing Essential Properties with predictable, stable cash flows.

Since its founding in April 2016 and its initial public offering later that year, Essential Properties has pursued a growth strategy focused on partnering with creditworthy tenants operating in densely populated trade areas.

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