Insider Selling: Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) COO Sells 22,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• COO Robert Jenkins sold 22,000 EPRT shares at an average price of $32.22, generating $708,840 and reducing his direct ownership by 39.17% to 34,168 shares.
• Essential Properties Realty Trust beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.34 EPS and $161.89 million in revenue, up 18.1% year over year. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $2.01–$2.05.
• The REIT raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share, representing a 4.0% annualized yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $36.11, versus a recent share price near $32.11.

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) COO Robert Jenkins sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.22, for a total value of $708,840.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 34,168 shares in the company, valued at $1,100,892.96. This represents a 39.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of EPRT stock traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $32.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,792,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,050,806. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.95 and a twelve month high of $34.73. The company has a quick ratio of 8.17, a current ratio of 8.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.45.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $161.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.65 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.34% and a net margin of 43.51%.Essential Properties Realty Trust's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.010-2.050 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is presently 99.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 159.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 74,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 45,561 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 21.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,244 shares of the company's stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,387,218 shares of the company's stock worth $45,279,000 after purchasing an additional 195,057 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,350,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 145,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,652,000 after buying an additional 32,254 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on EPRT. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $36.25 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $34.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.11.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

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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