United Services Automobile Association Purchases 730 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

United Services Automobile Association grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,183 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the quarter. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,834.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 215.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EPRT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. B. Riley downgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of EPRT opened at $32.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a current ratio of 5.36. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.72 and a 52 week high of $34.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.73 and a 200-day moving average of $32.39.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

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.