Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 3,315.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 134,412 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 130,477 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.07% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $4,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EPRT. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,411 shares of the company's stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 3,334 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 57,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 22,353 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 50,608 shares of the company's stock worth $1,583,000 after acquiring an additional 17,713 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 58.1% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 19,142 shares of the company's stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 7,034 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,318 shares of the company's stock worth $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

EPRT stock traded down $0.35 during trading on Thursday, hitting $32.39. The stock had a trading volume of 476,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,442,915. The company's 50 day moving average price is $31.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.91. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.75 and a 1-year high of $34.88. The stock has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.10. 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 released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.88 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This is a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 13,227 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total value of $435,961.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 76,590 shares in the company, valued at $2,524,406.40. The trade was a 14.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. B. Riley cut Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank increased 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. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $37.00 target price (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.91.

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.