O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Buys 879 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,397 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $246,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at about $79,000. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 9.9% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 23,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 118.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,176,000 after purchasing an additional 161,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,468,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,642,000 after purchasing an additional 118,927 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total value of $406,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,817,663.90. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays cut their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Capital One Financial began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, B. Riley downgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $30.75 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 5.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.97, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $24.72 and a one year high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 103.51%.

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.