California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 226,005 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,706 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.13% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $7,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 118.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,176,000 after buying an additional 161,697 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $287,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 94,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,946,000 after acquiring an additional 26,234 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,594,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,462,000 after acquiring an additional 98,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,872,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,866,000 after purchasing an additional 43,179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

EPRT opened at $29.29 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.33. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.72 and a 12-month high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued 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 dividend yield of 4.03%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 103.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EPRT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. B. Riley lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Capital One Financial started coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.91.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,817,663.90. The trade was a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company 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.