Aurora Investment Counsel Buys Shares of 98,569 Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Aurora Investment Counsel purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 98,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,083,000. Essential Properties Realty Trust accounts for approximately 1.7% of Aurora Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EPRT. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,033,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,535,000 after purchasing an additional 96,615 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,468,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,642,000 after buying an additional 118,927 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,138,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,336,000 after buying an additional 76,475 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,948,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,246,000 after buying an additional 469,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,872,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,866,000 after acquiring an additional 43,179 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $30.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.72 and a 1 year high of $34.88. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.39.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 103.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total value of $406,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,817,663.90. The trade was a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EPRT. B. Riley cut Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced 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 note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.48.

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.