Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 184,196 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,101,020 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 184,196 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $94,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 82.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 899 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp lifted 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 47.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 664.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 273.6% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on EPRT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Scotiabank raised shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $34.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $36.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert M. Jenkins sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.22, for a total transaction of $708,840.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 34,168 shares in the company, valued at $1,100,892.96. This represents a 39.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $31.95 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.48. 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 $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.88. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 6.34%. The company had revenue of $161.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 99.22%.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

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.