Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Short Interest Up 13.7% in September

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,170,000 shares, an increase of 13.7% from the August 31st total of 15,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,410,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 12.2 days.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $33,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 513,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,371,392. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $33,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 513,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,371,392. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 12,712 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $356,317.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 500,552 shares in the company, valued at $14,030,472.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 62,592 shares of company stock valued at $1,863,808. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essential Properties Realty Trust

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPRT. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 611.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 122.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 116.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 54.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EPRT shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.13.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $34.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 4.90 and a current ratio of 4.90. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $20.49 and a 52-week high of $34.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.48.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.13). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.28% and a net margin of 48.12%. The firm had revenue of $109.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.31%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company 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.