EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) Holdings Lifted by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) by 54.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in EPR Properties were worth $57,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of EPR Properties by 37.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 22,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 6,199 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in EPR Properties by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 709 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in EPR Properties by 398.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 154,198 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,562,000 after buying an additional 123,233 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of EPR Properties by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 16,297 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EPR Properties in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,285,000. Institutional investors own 74.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on EPR shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of EPR Properties from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group initiated coverage on EPR Properties in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of EPR Properties in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, EPR Properties has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.50.

EPR Properties Stock Up 1.5 %

EPR opened at $52.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 7.81 and a quick ratio of 7.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.54 and a beta of 1.75. EPR Properties has a fifty-two week low of $39.65 and a fifty-two week high of $53.59.

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.56. EPR Properties had a net margin of 28.87% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $149.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.25 million. On average, analysts anticipate that EPR Properties will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

EPR Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.80%. This is an increase from EPR Properties’s previous monthly dividend of $0.29. EPR Properties’s payout ratio is presently 148.05%.

EPR Properties Profile

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) is the leading diversified experiential net lease real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in select enduring experiential properties in the real estate industry. We focus on real estate venues that create value by facilitating out of home leisure and recreation experiences where consumers choose to spend their discretionary time and money.