Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Director Sells $406,750.00 in Stock

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total value of $406,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at $5,817,663.90. The trade was a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPRT traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $32.46. 1,046,958 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,138,993. The firm has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.40. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.28.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. As a group, analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share 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 given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Capital One Financial started coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley downgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.55.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $83,341,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $69,473,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 237.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,100,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478,451 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,651,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,506,000 after buying an additional 1,178,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,085,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

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.