Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 12.6%, adding 19,065 shares to own a total of 169,807 shares valued at approximately $5.54 million.
• Essential Properties Realty Trust's stock is down 0.7%, currently priced at $30.73, with a market cap of $6.09 billion and a 12-month high of $34.88.
• Major investors have significantly increased their holdings, with Alyeska Investment Group boosting its position by 66.1% and Amundi increasing theirs by 133.7% in the first quarter.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 12.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,807 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 19,065 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $5,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 3.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,966,449 shares of the company's stock valued at $912,825,000 after buying an additional 870,486 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,511,088 shares of the company's stock valued at $277,802,000 after purchasing an additional 48,904 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,062,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,504,000 after acquiring an additional 2,410,278 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 0.8% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,962,740 shares of the company's stock worth $161,984,000 after buying an additional 41,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,035,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,069,000 after acquiring an additional 86,244 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EPRT has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.34.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:EPRT traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $29.89. 551,043 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,656,266. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 5.67, a quick ratio of 5.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $27.44 and a one year high of $34.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.56.

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

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 101.69%.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

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.