Swiss National Bank Sells 5,100 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 339,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $11,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 129,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,228,000 after purchasing an additional 14,032 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 27,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $80,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,017,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,491,000 after purchasing an additional 144,531 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,966,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $912,825,000 after purchasing an additional 870,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EPRT opened at $30.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 5.67, a quick ratio of 5.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.44 and a 1-year high of $34.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.38 and its 200 day moving average is $31.64.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $129.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.72 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 44.48% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This is a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 101.69%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 13,227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total transaction of $435,961.92. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 76,590 shares in the company, valued at $2,524,406.40. This trade represents a 14.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.06.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

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.