Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Key Points

• Vanguard slightly trimmed its stake in Essential Properties by 0.2% to 29,587,182 shares, but still owns 14.93% of the company (about $877.6M), while institutional investors hold roughly 96.98% of the stock.
• Material insider selling occurred on March 20: CFO Robert Salisbury sold 5,851 shares (reducing his holding by 41.3%) and VP A. Joseph Peil sold 19,657 shares (down 20.4%), which may warrant investor attention.
• Operating and market signals are mixed: the company missed quarterly EPS ($0.28 vs. $0.33) but beat revenue expectations and set FY2026 guidance of $2.00–$2.05 EPS; it pays a 4.0% dividend with a 97.6% payout ratio and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Buy" with a $36.95 target (some firms raised targets to $40).

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,587,182 shares of the company's stock after selling 56,694 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 14.93% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $877,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Corp raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 146.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 54.2% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,867 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, CFO Robert Webb Salisbury sold 5,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total value of $186,529.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,922.80. This represents a 41.32% 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. Also, VP A Joseph Peil sold 19,657 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EPRT. UBS Group upped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.95.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE EPRT opened at $31.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.12. The business's 50 day moving average price is $32.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.28. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.95 and a fifty-two week high of $34.73. The company has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.05). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 43.46%.The business had revenue of $158.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $151.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.050 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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