Insider Selling: Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) CFO Sells 5,851 Shares of Stock

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) CFO Robert Webb Salisbury sold 5,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total transaction of $186,529.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,310 shares in the company, valued at $264,922.80. The trade was a 41.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:EPRT traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $31.35. The stock had a trading volume of 2,338,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,067,576. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 6.37 and a quick ratio of 6.37. The company has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.44 and a 1-year high of $34.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.93.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.88%.

Institutional Trading of Essential Properties Realty Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.9% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,284,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,815,000 after purchasing an additional 267,226 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,242,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 139.6% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 118,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 69,157 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,378,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,782,000 after purchasing an additional 115,567 shares during the period. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 104.9% in the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 60,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,811,000 after buying an additional 31,143 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EPRT shares. Raymond James Financial raised Essential Properties Realty Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $36.60.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company Profile

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: EPRT) is a self-administered real estate investment trust that acquires, owns and manages single-tenant commercial properties subject to long-term, triple-net leases. The company’s portfolio primarily consists of small-box retail and industrial assets, including convenience stores, automotive service centers, quick-service restaurants, fitness centers and other necessity-based businesses. Under a triple-net lease structure, tenants assume responsibility for property taxes, insurance and most maintenance expenses, providing Essential Properties with predictable, stable cash flows.

Since its founding in April 2016 and its initial public offering later that year, Essential Properties has pursued a growth strategy focused on partnering with creditworthy tenants operating in densely populated trade areas.