Janus Henderson Group PLC Grows Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,404 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,433 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.07% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $3,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,834.4% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,180 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 439.4% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,451 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 275.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the company's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 30,000 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total transaction of $959,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 218,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,998,932.15. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EPRT opened at $32.44 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.36, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $31.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.95. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.07 and a 52-week high of $34.88.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $129.35 million during 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%. The business's revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is 102.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on EPRT. B. Riley downgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays cut their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Capital One Financial started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.77.

Essential Properties Realty Trust 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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