Vanderbilt University Purchases 19,197 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Vanderbilt University boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 54.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,568 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,197 shares during the quarter. Vanderbilt University’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $1,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 63.6% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 57,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after buying an additional 22,353 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 61.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 3,334 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Selective Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 21,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EPRT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.85.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EPRT opened at $32.02 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 5.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.08. 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 market cap of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.40.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.61%.

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.