Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 683,400 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 89.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 84,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 683,400 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $2,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 38,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,930,360.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,737,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,829,000 after acquiring an additional 6,736,959 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 45,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 375,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,144,000 after acquiring an additional 7,150 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, CFO Robert Webb Salisbury sold 5,851 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total transaction of $186,529.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,922.80. This trade represents a 41.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP A Joseph Peil sold 19,657 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total value of $630,989.70. Following the sale, the vice president owned 76,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,456,452.50. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EPRT shares. Barclays increased their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.55.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:EPRT opened at $31.38 on Monday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.95 and a twelve month high of $34.73. The company has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.33. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.05). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 43.46%.The business had revenue of $158.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.050 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.