Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 29.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,646,742 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 372,040 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.94% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $45,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EPRT. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,226,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,918,000 after purchasing an additional 27,253 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $48,312,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $269,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 111,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,861,000 after purchasing an additional 22,525 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $34.10 on Monday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $20.49 and a one year high of $34.24. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 4.90 and a current ratio of 4.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.19.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $109.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $102.99 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.28% and a net margin of 48.12%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 94.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total transaction of $899,323.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 446,076 shares in the company, valued at $14,421,637.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 446,076 shares in the company, valued at $14,421,637.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $33,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 513,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,371,392. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,592 shares of company stock worth $1,863,808 over the last 90 days. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on EPRT shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James lifted their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.81.

Essential Properties Realty Trust 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.