SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 14,655 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 237.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,825 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,655 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,651,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,284 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,422,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,342,000 after acquiring an additional 284,036 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,872,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,866,000 after acquiring an additional 43,179 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,341,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,550,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,767,000 after acquiring an additional 46,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on EPRT shares. Barclays reaffirmed 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. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 13,227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total value of $435,961.92. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 76,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,524,406.40. This trade represents a 14.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of EPRT opened at $32.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 7.76 and a current ratio of 7.76. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.75 and a fifty-two week high of $34.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.84.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $129.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.88 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.13% and a net margin of 44.62%. The company’s revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 14th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.61%.

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.