Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Boosts Stock Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 51.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,653 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,420 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,341,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in 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 worth $65,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478,451 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,178,284 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,085,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $21,438,000. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 76,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,524,406.40. This trade represents 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 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EPRT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective 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 raised their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.06.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EPRT opened at $31.21 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 7.76, a current ratio of 7.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.80. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.44 and a 52-week high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 44.62% and a return on equity of 6.13%. The business had revenue of $129.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 14th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. 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.