Xponance Inc. Increases Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,380 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 874 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,176,000 after purchasing an additional 161,697 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $287,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,138,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,336,000 after buying an additional 76,475 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,594,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,462,000 after acquiring an additional 98,467 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 840.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 622,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,242,000 after acquiring an additional 555,926 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EPRT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. B. Riley downgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of EPRT stock opened at $32.83 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.39. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.72 and a 52 week high of $34.88. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.79, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,817,663.90. The trade was a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.