Insider Selling: Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Director Sells 12,500 Shares of Stock

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at $5,817,663.90. The trade was a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $32.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a PE ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.40. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $34.88. The company has a quick ratio of 5.36, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.28.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 95.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,834.4% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 215.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EPRT shares. Scotiabank increased 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 report on Monday, November 25th. Capital One Financial began 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 on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. B. Riley lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.55.

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.