Yousif Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,766 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,268 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $2,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EPRT. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,033,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,535,000 after buying an additional 96,615 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,468,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,642,000 after acquiring an additional 118,927 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,138,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,336,000 after acquiring an additional 76,475 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,829,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,637,000 after acquiring an additional 141,612 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,503,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,491,000 after acquiring an additional 621,445 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EPRT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.85.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EPRT opened at $31.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 5.59 and a quick ratio of 5.59. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $34.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.11. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.40.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.61%.

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.