Yousif Capital Management LLC Purchases 2,920 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,686 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,920 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $2,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,341,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 237.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,100,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478,451 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,651,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,506,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,284 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $35,085,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $21,438,000. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 13,227 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total transaction of $435,961.92. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 76,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,524,406.40. The trade was a 14.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on EPRT. B. Riley lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. 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, May 12th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

NYSE EPRT opened at $32.35 on Friday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $26.75 and a one year high of $34.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.90 and a 200 day moving average of $31.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a current ratio of 5.36. The company has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.10.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $129.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.88 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.35%.

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.