Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,479,342 shares of the company’s stock after selling 175,499 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.41% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $84,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 95.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 611.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $79,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 54.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $36.25 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.94 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

EPRT stock opened at $31.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $34.88. The company has a quick ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 5.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.26.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $117.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.73 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 46.00%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s revenue was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.61%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Profile

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.