Legal & General Group Plc Acquires New Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,321,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,459,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.61% of Essential Properties Realty Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,183,153,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 111.6% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 18,611,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,031,000 after purchasing an additional 9,816,042 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,131,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,488,000 after buying an additional 843,877 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,844,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,670,000 after buying an additional 421,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,930,360.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,737,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,829,000 after buying an additional 6,736,959 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

EPRT opened at $30.40 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 8.17 and a quick ratio of 8.17. The company has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.86. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.95 and a 1-year high of $34.73.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.34% and a net margin of 43.51%.The company had revenue of $161.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.010-2.050 EPS. Research analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 99.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EPRT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $36.25 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Robert M. Jenkins sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.22, for a total value of $708,840.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 34,168 shares in the company, valued at $1,100,892.96. The trade was a 39.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust 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.