Strs Ohio Acquires 157,600 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Key Points

• Strs Ohio increased its stake in Essential Properties by 28%, buying 157,600 shares and now owns 719,600 shares (a 0.36% stake) valued at about $21.34 million.
• Several large asset managers (Balyasny, MFS, Barclays, CBRE, UBS) also materially boosted positions, leaving institutional investors with 96.98% ownership, while analysts' consensus rating is "Buy" with a $36.95 target and multiple price-target upgrades to around $40.
• The company missed quarterly EPS expectations ($0.28 vs. $0.33) despite revenue rising 22.8%, declared a $0.31 quarterly dividend (4.0% yield) with a high payout ratio (~97.6%), and insiders have been reducing holdings (VP and CFO sales), leaving insiders with 0.77% ownership.

Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 28.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 719,600 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 157,600 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned 0.36% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $21,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EPRT. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 195.4% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,970,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,171,000 after buying an additional 2,626,478 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,803,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,812,000 after buying an additional 1,425,082 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 168.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,212,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,833,000 after buying an additional 1,388,289 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 84.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 2,188,633 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,134,000 after buying an additional 1,003,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 467.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,209,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,003,000 after buying an additional 996,473 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 19,657 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total value of $630,989.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 76,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,456,452.50. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Webb Salisbury sold 5,851 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total value of $186,529.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at $264,922.80. The trade was a 41.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EPRT. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Raymond James Financial raised Essential Properties Realty Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.95.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

EPRT opened at $31.28 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 5.12 and a quick ratio of 5.12. The firm has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.91. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.95 and a 1 year high of $34.73.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $158.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $151.87 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 43.46%.Essential Properties Realty Trust's revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.050 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.97 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 Tuesday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is currently 97.64%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company Profile

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc NYSE: EPRT is a self-administered real estate investment trust that acquires, owns and manages single-tenant commercial properties subject to long-term, triple-net leases. The company’s portfolio primarily consists of small-box retail and industrial assets, including convenience stores, automotive service centers, quick-service restaurants, fitness centers and other necessity-based businesses. Under a triple-net lease structure, tenants assume responsibility for property taxes, insurance and most maintenance expenses, providing Essential Properties with predictable, stable cash flows.

Since its founding in April 2016 and its initial public offering later that year, Essential Properties has pursued a growth strategy focused on partnering with creditworthy tenants operating in densely populated trade areas.

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