Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,035,196 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 86,244 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.54% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $99,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EPRT. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,834.4% in the fourth 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 period. Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the first quarter worth about $42,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 439.4% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 275.5% in the fourth 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 period. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 13,227 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 76,590 shares in the company, valued at $2,524,406.40. The trade was a 14.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on EPRT. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. 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 report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.06.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of EPRT stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $31.21. 1,556,425 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,473,741. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $32.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.80. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.44 and a 12-month high of $34.88. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 7.76, a current ratio of 7.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.13% and a net margin of 44.62%. The firm had revenue of $129.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $124.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. Essential Properties Realty Trust's revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 14th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is presently 104.35%.

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.