Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Position Increased by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 45.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,556 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,699 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,111,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 118,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,702,000 after purchasing an additional 17,433 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth $4,901,000. Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 1,241,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,832,000 after buying an additional 77,722 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on EPRT. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. B. Riley cut shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.77.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

EPRT opened at $32.44 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a current ratio of 5.36. The company has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.63 and a 200-day moving average of $31.95. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.07 and a 52-week high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. The company had revenue of $129.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 30,000 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total value of $959,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 218,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,998,932.15. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company Profile

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.

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