Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Stock Holdings Lifted by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 943.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,506 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 85,449 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $2,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on EPRT shares. Capital One Financial started coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley downgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $37.00 price target (up from $35.00) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced 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 report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:EPRT traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $31.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,107,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,434,022. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.96. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.07 and a 52 week high of $34.88. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $129.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,817,663.90. The trade was a 6.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.