Rhumbline Advisers Sells 12,641 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 531,014 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,641 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.27% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $17,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,651,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,284 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,422,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,342,000 after acquiring an additional 284,036 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,948,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,246,000 after purchasing an additional 469,610 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,872,955 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,866,000 after purchasing an additional 43,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,341,000. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EPRT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Capital One Financial started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, B. Riley lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:EPRT traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,194,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,446,506. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.75 and a twelve month high of $34.88. The stock has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $31.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a current ratio of 5.36.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $129.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.88 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.35%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 13,227 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total value of $435,961.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 76,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,524,406.40. This trade represents a 14.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

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.