Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Stake Increased by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 30.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,900 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EPRT. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 215.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 275.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the third quarter worth $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $31.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.70 and its 200-day moving average is $32.38. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.72 and a 52-week high of $34.88. 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 (NYSE:EPRT) last released its 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on EPRT shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. B. Riley lowered Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank cut 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. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust 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 sale, the director now directly owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,817,663.90. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Profile

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.