Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,101,020 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 184,196 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.43% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $94,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EPRT. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 159.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 74,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 45,561 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 21.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 3,981 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 16.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,387,218 shares of the company's stock worth $45,279,000 after buying an additional 195,057 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the first quarter worth about $2,350,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 145,784 shares of the company's stock worth $4,652,000 after acquiring an additional 32,254 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company's stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.5%

EPRT stock opened at $31.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 8.17 and a current ratio of 8.17. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $28.95 and a one year high of $34.73. The company's 50 day moving average price is $30.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.48.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $161.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $156.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm's 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, analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is 99.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert M. Jenkins sold 22,000 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.22, for a total value of $708,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 34,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,100,892.96. The trade was a 39.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on EPRT shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective 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. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $34.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.20.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company 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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