Swiss National Bank Increases Stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 344,800 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $10,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EPRT. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 30.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 58.6% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at about $1,658,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,503,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,491,000 after buying an additional 621,445 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,829,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,637,000 after buying an additional 141,612 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $32.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.68 and its 200 day moving average is $32.38. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.72 and a twelve month high of $34.88. The company has a quick ratio of 5.36, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. Research analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total value of $406,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,817,663.90. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EPRT. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. B. Riley cut shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.48.

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.