Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 47,292 shares and leaving it with 829,555 shares worth about $24.6 million.
• The REIT reported quarterly EPS of $0.28, missing analyst expectations of $0.33, though revenue of $158.8 million topped estimates and rose 22.8% year over year.
• Essential Properties Realty Trust raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share from $0.31, implying an annualized yield of 4.2%; analysts remain mostly positive with a consensus Buy rating and average price target of $36.41.

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 829,555 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,292 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.40% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $24,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 111.6% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 18,611,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $552,031,000 after purchasing an additional 9,816,042 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,131,871 shares of the company's stock worth $358,488,000 after buying an additional 843,877 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,844,570 shares of the company's stock valued at $232,670,000 after buying an additional 421,364 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,930,360.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,737,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $199,829,000 after buying an additional 6,736,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,240,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,452,000 after acquiring an additional 25,857 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $30.46 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.02 and a 200-day moving average of $31.23. The company has a current ratio of 5.12, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.88. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.95 and a twelve month high of $34.73.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.05). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 43.46% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The company had revenue of $158.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Essential Properties Realty Trust's revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.050 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is 97.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $36.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.41.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

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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