EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) Short Interest Down 20.7% in March

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,260,000 shares, a drop of 20.7% from the February 28th total of 2,850,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 713,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gwendolyn Mary Johnson sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.02, for a total value of $210,678.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $443,828.32. This represents a 32.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Tonya L. Mater sold 3,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.90, for a total value of $161,928.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 46,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,430,321.30. This represents a 6.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,520 shares of company stock valued at $502,581. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EPR Properties

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in EPR Properties in the fourth quarter worth $302,313,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in EPR Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $41,148,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in EPR Properties by 304.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 457,621 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,442,000 after buying an additional 344,544 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in EPR Properties by 44.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,085,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,086,000 after buying an additional 334,943 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in EPR Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $13,145,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of EPR Properties from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on EPR Properties from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of EPR Properties from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of EPR Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.00.

EPR Properties Trading Up 0.1 %

EPR stock opened at $51.73 on Monday. EPR Properties has a twelve month low of $39.66 and a twelve month high of $54.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a quick ratio of 7.81, a current ratio of 7.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.40.

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.56. EPR Properties had a net margin of 28.87% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $149.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.25 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that EPR Properties will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

EPR Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is a positive change from EPR Properties’s previous monthly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. EPR Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 221.25%.

About EPR Properties

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) is the leading diversified experiential net lease real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in select enduring experiential properties in the real estate industry. We focus on real estate venues that create value by facilitating out of home leisure and recreation experiences where consumers choose to spend their discretionary time and money.