Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Shares Sold by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.1%, selling 45,616 shares in the first quarter, leaving them with 92,007 shares worth approximately $3 million.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with ten analysts issuing buy ratings and three giving hold ratings, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $34.90.
• Essential Properties Realty Trust recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, representing a yield of 3.93%, despite a dividend payout ratio of 101.69%.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 33.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,007 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,616 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $3,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPRT. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $1,100,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 26,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $826,000 after acquiring an additional 3,271 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 115,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,851,232 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,907,000 after acquiring an additional 256,457 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.90.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $30.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50-day moving average price is $31.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.75. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.44 and a fifty-two week high of $34.88. The company has a quick ratio of 7.76, a current ratio of 7.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $129.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.72 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 44.48% and a return on equity of 6.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 13,227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total transaction of $435,961.92. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 76,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,524,406.40. This trade represents a 14.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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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