MML Investors Services LLC Grows Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,597 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 88,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after buying an additional 10,900 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 9.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,966,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,486,000 after acquiring an additional 169,222 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.5% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 91,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,541,000 after purchasing an additional 7,213 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 54.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 32,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 6,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on EPRT. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $36.25 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.94 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of EPRT opened at $31.53 on Friday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $34.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 5.59 and a quick ratio of 5.59. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.23. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $117.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.73 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 46.00% and a return on equity of 6.20%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 102.61%.

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.