17,131 Shares in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT Purchased by Groupe la Francaise

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise has acquired a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, purchasing 17,131 shares valued at approximately $559,000 in the first quarter.
• Institutional ownership of Essential Properties Realty Trust is high, with 96.98% of the stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating strong investor confidence.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 3.8%.

Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 17,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $559,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 3,693,700.0% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 36,938 shares of the company's stock worth $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 36,937 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 12.1% during the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 8,674 shares of the company's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 0.8% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,962,740 shares of the company's stock worth $161,984,000 after purchasing an additional 41,230 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the first quarter worth $447,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the first quarter worth $92,000. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EPRT shares. 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 note on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.34.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE EPRT traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,012,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,854. 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 5.67, a current ratio of 5.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.60. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.07.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $129.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.72 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 44.48% and a return on equity of 6.20%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.860-1.890 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 13,227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total transaction of $435,961.92. Following the transaction, the vice president directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company 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.