Cetera Investment Advisers Makes New $319,000 Investment in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers has acquired a new position of 9,766 shares in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) during the first quarter, valued at approximately $319,000.
• Essential Properties Realty Trust recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.30, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.9%, while the company's dividend payout ratio stands at 101.69%.
• The stock has shown a 1-year high of $34.88 and a 1-year low of $27.44, with a current market cap of $6.11 billion.

Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 51.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 30,653 shares of the company's stock valued at $994,000 after acquiring an additional 10,420 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 53,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,693 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 409,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,805,000 after acquiring an additional 111,376 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 238,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,798,000 after acquiring an additional 73,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 87,962 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,871,000 after acquiring an additional 8,510 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on EPRT shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.34.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

EPRT stock traded up $0.1760 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.2960. The stock had a trading volume of 1,370,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,473,615. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 5.67 and a current ratio of 5.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.61. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.44 and a 52-week high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $129.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $131.72 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 44.48%.The business's revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.860-1.890 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is 101.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 13,227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total transaction of $435,961.92. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 76,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,524,406.40. This trade represents a 14.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

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.