Stifel Financial Corp Buys 1,596 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,026 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,596 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $5,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EPRT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $83,341,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 237.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,100,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478,451 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,651,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,284 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,438,000. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 32,343.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 673,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,068,000 after buying an additional 671,448 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on EPRT shares. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. B. Riley downgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total value of $406,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,817,663.90. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 0.4 %

EPRT opened at $31.90 on Wednesday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.06 and a 12 month high of $34.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.08. The firm has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $129.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.88 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.61%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust 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.