Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,053,195 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,850 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 1.17% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $64,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EPRT. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 243,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,304,000 after acquiring an additional 72,949 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $344,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 840.9% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 622,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,242,000 after purchasing an additional 555,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,138,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,336,000 after purchasing an additional 76,475 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total value of $959,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 218,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,998,932.15. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.6 %

EPRT opened at $32.67 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.81 and its 200-day moving average is $32.39. 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 $24.72 and a 1-year high of $34.88. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 103.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on EPRT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started 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. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. B. Riley cut Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.91.

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.