Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Acquires 3,100 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,061 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $1,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EPRT. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 29.7% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 18,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 4,133 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,506,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,456,000 after acquiring an additional 83,565 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 25.2% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 190,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,510,000 after purchasing an additional 38,380 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 26.5% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 244,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,347,000 after purchasing an additional 51,196 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

EPRT stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $32.92. The stock had a trading volume of 99,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,340,081. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.01 and a 1-year high of $34.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 5.59 and a current ratio of 5.59. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.14. The stock has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.87%.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total value of $899,323.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 446,076 shares in the company, valued at $14,421,637.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on EPRT. Truist Financial upped their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $36.25 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.37.

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.