Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 10% in the fourth quarter, selling 112,396 shares and ending with about 1.01 million shares valued at roughly $30.0 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly constructive on EPRT: the consensus rating is Buy with an average price target of $36.55, and several firms recently raised their targets despite one analyst's more cautious view.
• The REIT reported mixed quarterly results, with revenue up 22.8% year over year to $158.8 million but earnings of $0.28 per share missing estimates; it also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, yielding about 4.1%.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,012,175 shares of the company's stock after selling 112,396 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.51% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $30,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,110 shares of the company's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 2,400 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 6,776 shares of the company's stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,861 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $36.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.55.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of EPRT opened at $30.21 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.12. The company has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.91. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.95 and a fifty-two week high of $34.73.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $158.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.87 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 43.46% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The company's revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.050 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is 97.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, CFO Robert Webb Salisbury sold 5,851 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total transaction of $186,529.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,310 shares in the company, valued at $264,922.80. This represents a 41.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP A Joseph Peil sold 19,657 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total value of $630,989.70. Following the sale, the vice president owned 76,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,456,452.50. The trade was a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

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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