MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 2,078 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,436 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,078 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $3,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EPRT. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5,380.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,881,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,149,000 after buying an additional 1,847,618 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $21,274,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,669.8% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 603,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,610,000 after purchasing an additional 569,400 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 840.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 622,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,242,000 after purchasing an additional 555,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 29.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,646,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,631,000 after purchasing an additional 372,040 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $33.04 on Wednesday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $34.88. The stock has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 5.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $33.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.77.

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). The firm had revenue of $117.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.73 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 46.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EPRT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial increased their price target 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. Finally, Wedbush assumed coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.44.

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.