Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Shares Acquired by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 38.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 94,169 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,234 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $2,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EPRT. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 8,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 2,085 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 69,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 20,892 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $514,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 46,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EPRT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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. Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, B. Riley lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $32.31 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 28.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 5.36. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.72 and a 12 month high of $34.88.

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

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at $5,817,663.90. This represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.