Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Stake Increased by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 943.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,506 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 85,449 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.05% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $2,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EPRT. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,834.4% during 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 last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 439.4% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 period. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EPRT opened at $32.44 on Tuesday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.07 and a twelve month high of $34.88. 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 capitalization of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.95.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. The business had revenue of $129.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 102.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on EPRT. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. B. Riley lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total value of $959,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 218,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,998,932.15. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

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.