Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Shares Acquired by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 243,172 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,949 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.14% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $8,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EPRT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,829,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,637,000 after buying an additional 141,612 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 11.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,575,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,372,000 after purchasing an additional 264,052 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,503,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,491,000 after purchasing an additional 621,445 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 9.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,966,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,486,000 after purchasing an additional 169,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,712,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,492,000 after purchasing an additional 66,058 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.44.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total value of $899,323.61. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 446,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,421,637.08. This represents a 5.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of EPRT opened at $34.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 5.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.49 and a fifty-two week high of $34.88. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.65, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.63.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.16). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 46.00% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The company had revenue of $117.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 100.87%.

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.