Sei Investments Co. Trims Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Sei Investments Co. reduced its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 22.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 198,269 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,295 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $6,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position 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 during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 275.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $79,000. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on EPRT. Barclays cut their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. B. Riley downgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Finally, Capital One Financial assumed coverage on 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $32.62 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.61, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 5.36, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.72 and a 52 week high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 103.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,817,663.90. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

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.