Capital World Investors Increases Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 729,238 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 27,478 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned approximately 0.37% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $21,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EPRT. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 82.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 899 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 146.9% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 664.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on EPRT shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Essential Properties Realty Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $36.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CFO Robert Webb Salisbury sold 5,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total transaction of $186,529.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,310 shares in the company, valued at $264,922.80. This represents a 41.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP A Joseph Peil sold 19,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total value of $630,989.70. Following the sale, the vice president owned 76,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,456,452.50. This represents a 20.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of EPRT stock opened at $30.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 5.12, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.29 and its 200 day moving average is $31.33. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.95 and a 12 month high of $34.73.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $158.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.87 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 43.46%.The company’s revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.050 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.64%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company Profile

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: EPRT) is a self-administered real estate investment trust that acquires, owns and manages single-tenant commercial properties subject to long-term, triple-net leases. The company’s portfolio primarily consists of small-box retail and industrial assets, including convenience stores, automotive service centers, quick-service restaurants, fitness centers and other necessity-based businesses. Under a triple-net lease structure, tenants assume responsibility for property taxes, insurance and most maintenance expenses, providing Essential Properties with predictable, stable cash flows.

Since its founding in April 2016 and its initial public offering later that year, Essential Properties has pursued a growth strategy focused on partnering with creditworthy tenants operating in densely populated trade areas.