Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $346,000 Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 11,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EPRT. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,033,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,535,000 after purchasing an additional 96,615 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,468,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,642,000 after buying an additional 118,927 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,138,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,336,000 after acquiring an additional 76,475 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,948,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,246,000 after buying an additional 469,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,872,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,866,000 after buying an additional 43,179 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at $5,817,663.90. This represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EPRT shares. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. B. Riley downgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Capital One Financial began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $32.38 on Wednesday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.72 and a 52 week high of $34.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.39. The company has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. Equities analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 103.51%.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

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.