Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 70,800 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 674,300 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,800 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $21,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EPRT. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 95.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 215.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 58.6% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $31.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.55 and a 200-day moving average of $32.19. The firm has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.40. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $34.88.

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

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EPRT. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.55.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company 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.