Legal & General Group Plc Grows Stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,397,170 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 115,768 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $41,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EPRT. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,930,360.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,737,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,829,000 after purchasing an additional 6,736,959 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 195.4% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,970,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,478 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,803,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425,082 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 168.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,212,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,388,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 84.6% during the third quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 2,188,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,177 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Robert Webb Salisbury sold 5,851 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total value of $186,529.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,922.80. The trade was a 41.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP A Joseph Peil sold 19,657 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 76,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,456,452.50. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:EPRT opened at $30.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 5.12 and a quick ratio of 5.12. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.95 and a 1 year high of $34.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.36. The company has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.05). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 43.46%.The firm had revenue of $158.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.87 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.050 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 97.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial upgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $36.55.

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.