Versant Capital Management Inc Grows Position in EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR)

Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR - Free Report) by 461.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,721 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 7,167 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings in EPR Properties were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EPR. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in EPR Properties by 14.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,647 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,993,000 after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in EPR Properties by 89.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,753 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 1,767 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in EPR Properties by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 5,610 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in EPR Properties by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,577 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its holdings in EPR Properties by 59.5% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 25,097 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 9,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on EPR. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of EPR Properties in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of EPR Properties in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on EPR Properties from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on EPR Properties from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised EPR Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EPR Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.43.

EPR Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EPR traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $55.73. The company had a trading volume of 1,049,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 611,854. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 7.81 and a current ratio of 7.81. EPR Properties has a 12 month low of $39.87 and a 12 month high of $55.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13 and a beta of 1.26.

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $146.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $155.46 million. EPR Properties had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 28.87%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that EPR Properties will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

EPR Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a may 25 dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. EPR Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 217.18%.

Insider Activity at EPR Properties

In related news, SVP Gwendolyn Mary Johnson sold 3,900 shares of EPR Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.02, for a total transaction of $210,678.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $443,828.32. This trade represents a 32.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Tonya L. Mater sold 3,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.90, for a total value of $161,928.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 46,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,430,321.30. This represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,520 shares of company stock valued at $502,581. 2.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

EPR Properties Company Profile

EPR Properties NYSE: EPR is the leading diversified experiential net lease real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in select enduring experiential properties in the real estate industry. We focus on real estate venues that create value by facilitating out of home leisure and recreation experiences where consumers choose to spend their discretionary time and money.