Millennium Management LLC Purchases 160,772 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 13.0% in Q1, owning approximately 1,394,060 shares valued at about $45.5 million.
• Essential Properties Realty Trust declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, with a yield of 3.9%, set to be paid on October 14th.
• Analysts have varied price targets for the stock, with UBS Group raising their target from $36.00 to $38.00 and a consensus price target of $35.34 reflecting an overall "Moderate Buy" rating.

Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,394,060 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 160,772 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.71% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $45,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EPRT. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,062,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,504,000 after buying an additional 2,410,278 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the first quarter worth $59,546,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 66.1% during the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,959,948 shares of the company's stock worth $96,613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,238 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the first quarter worth $37,224,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 3.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,966,449 shares of the company's stock worth $912,825,000 after purchasing an additional 870,486 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on EPRT shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. 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 research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.07.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.4%

EPRT stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $29.85. 1,224,951 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,323,764. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $30.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.50. 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 company has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.08. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $27.44 and a one year high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $129.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.860-1.890 EPS. Research analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

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