Voya Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 173.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 176,755 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 112,094 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $5,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $79,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 118.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,176,000 after acquiring an additional 161,697 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at $448,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 31,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 7,339 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,594,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,462,000 after acquiring an additional 98,467 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Capital One Financial began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, B. Riley downgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.91.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 30,000 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total transaction of $959,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 218,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,998,932.15. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of EPRT traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $32.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 440,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,424,195. The stock has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.07 and a 1-year high of $34.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.03.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $129.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.88 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. The firm's revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 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 Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.61%.

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.