Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 46,270 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $1,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,834.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 215.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 275.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $79,000. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. B. Riley cut shares of 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays cut their price target on 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. Finally, Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at $5,817,663.90. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $32.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.72 and a 1 year high of $34.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a current ratio of 5.36.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. Equities analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.51%.

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.