Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 29.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 85,033 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,053 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $2,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,803,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,812,000 after buying an additional 1,425,082 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 104.9% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 60,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,811,000 after buying an additional 31,143 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 225.6% during the third quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 700,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,832,000 after buying an additional 485,000 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 975,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,051,000 after buying an additional 126,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 39.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,290,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,157,000 after buying an additional 651,782 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 19,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total transaction of $630,989.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 76,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,456,452.50. The trade was a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Webb Salisbury sold 5,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total transaction of $186,529.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,922.80. This represents a 41.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EPRT. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $36.50.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $30.18 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.40 and a 200 day moving average of $31.36. The stock has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.88. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.95 and a 12 month high of $34.73. The company has a current ratio of 5.12, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $158.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.87 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 43.46% and a return on equity of 6.30%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.050 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.64%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company Profile

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: EPRT) is a self-administered real estate investment trust that acquires, owns and manages single-tenant commercial properties subject to long-term, triple-net leases. The company’s portfolio primarily consists of small-box retail and industrial assets, including convenience stores, automotive service centers, quick-service restaurants, fitness centers and other necessity-based businesses. Under a triple-net lease structure, tenants assume responsibility for property taxes, insurance and most maintenance expenses, providing Essential Properties with predictable, stable cash flows.

Since its founding in April 2016 and its initial public offering later that year, Essential Properties has pursued a growth strategy focused on partnering with creditworthy tenants operating in densely populated trade areas.