Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Shares Purchased by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 25.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190,631 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,380 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.11% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $6,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EPRT. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the second quarter worth $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 611.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,195 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 122.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 116.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 446,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,421,637.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

Essential Properties Realty Trust stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.06. 783,994 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,345,859. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $32.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.14. The company has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.37. 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 52-week low of $23.00 and a 52-week high of $34.51.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.16). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 46.00% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The firm had revenue of $117.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The company's revenue was up 27.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is presently 100.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EPRT. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $36.25 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wedbush assumed coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Monday, August 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.83.

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.