JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,594,775 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 98,467 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.91% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $54,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of EPRT. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 95.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 10,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE EPRT opened at $31.49 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 5.59 and a quick ratio of 5.59. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $34.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.39.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted 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 business had revenue of $117.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.73 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 46.00% and a return on equity of 6.20%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Analysts predict 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors 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. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Barclays began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.94 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust 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.