Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Short Interest Up 16.0% in September

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 19,920,000 shares, a growth of 16.0% from the September 15th total of 17,170,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 15.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on EPRT. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wedbush initiated 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total transaction of $899,323.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 446,076 shares in the company, valued at $14,421,637.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 409.2% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 241,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,435,000 after acquiring an additional 193,979 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,377,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $676,561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,079 shares in the last quarter. Hazelview Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 112.9% in the first quarter. Hazelview Securities Inc. now owns 867,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,731,000 after purchasing an additional 460,065 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 51.0% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 281,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,530,000 after purchasing an additional 94,970 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 298.0% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 64,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 48,231 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 1.8 %

EPRT traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $34.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 945,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,360,479. The stock has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.37. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $20.49 and a fifty-two week high of $34.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 4.90 and a quick ratio of 4.90. The business’s 50-day moving average is $32.21 and its 200-day moving average is $29.13.

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

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

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