Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC Increases Stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,138,565 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,910 shares during the quarter. Essential Properties Realty Trust accounts for 2.1% of Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $38,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 88,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,369,000 after buying an additional 5,672 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 116.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 19.0% during the second quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 23,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 3,722 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 122.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 21.8% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 63,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,768,000 after acquiring an additional 11,413 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Down 2.0 %

EPRT opened at $33.41 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.73. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $34.88. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 5.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $117.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.73 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 46.00% and a return on equity of 6.20%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total value of $899,323.61. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,421,637.08. This trade represents a 5.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EPRT shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.44.

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.