Truist Financial Corp Makes New Investment in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 215.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 58.6% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,817,663.90. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Capital One Financial started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.48.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of EPRT stock opened at $32.16 on Thursday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.53 and a twelve month high of $34.88. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. On average, analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. 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 dividend yield of 3.67%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.51%.

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.