Jane Street Group LLC Sells 207,065 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Jane Street Group LLC lessened its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 70.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 207,065 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $2,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 14.1% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 88,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 10,900 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,966,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,486,000 after purchasing an additional 169,222 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 91,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,541,000 after purchasing an additional 7,213 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 54.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 24.5% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 32,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 6,483 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $31.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.23. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $34.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 5.59 and a current ratio of 5.59.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.73 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 102.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on EPRT shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on 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. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.94 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.91.

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.