Vestcor Inc Buys New Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc has acquired a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, purchasing 90,090 shares for approximately $2.94 million.
• Institutional investors now own 96.98% of Essential Properties Realty Trust, with significant recent activity from hedge funds like JP Morgan and Norges Bank.
• Essential Properties Realty Trust has recently boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.30, representing a 3.92% dividend yield.

Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 90,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,941,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Quarry LP increased 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 acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth $100,000. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 44.6% in the 4th quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 3,325 shares of the company's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth $119,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company's stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 0.1%

EPRT traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.52. 1,612,913 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,866,149. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 5.67 and a current ratio of 5.67. The firm has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.73. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.44 and a 1 year high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.01). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 44.48% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The business had revenue of $129.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 13,227 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EPRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.90.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

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.