EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) Short Interest Update

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,580,000 shares, a decrease of 11.0% from the August 31st total of 2,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 577,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of EPR Properties in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on EPR Properties from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Raymond James raised EPR Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on EPR Properties from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of EPR Properties from $42.50 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.06.

EPR Properties Stock Performance

Shares of EPR Properties stock opened at $48.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a current ratio of 11.12, a quick ratio of 11.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.20. EPR Properties has a 12 month low of $39.65 and a 12 month high of $50.26.

EPR Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $3.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. EPR Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 168.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EPR Properties news, SVP Gwendolyn Mary Johnson sold 592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.82, for a total value of $25,941.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,279.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Tonya L. Mater sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $46,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 42,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,964,660. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Gwendolyn Mary Johnson sold 592 shares of EPR Properties stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.82, for a total transaction of $25,941.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,279.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of EPR Properties

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of EPR Properties by 290.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,691,029 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $81,930,000 after buying an additional 1,257,791 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in EPR Properties by 64.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,044,134 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $43,279,000 after acquiring an additional 407,767 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in EPR Properties by 23.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,177,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,435,000 after purchasing an additional 222,800 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in EPR Properties during the first quarter worth about $7,429,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of EPR Properties by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,366,416 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $482,504,000 after purchasing an additional 109,144 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.66% of the company’s stock.

About EPR Properties

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) is the leading diversified experiential net lease real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in select enduring experiential properties in the real estate industry. We focus on real estate venues that create value by facilitating out of home leisure and recreation experiences where consumers choose to spend their discretionary time and money.