Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 56,929 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 386,711 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 56,929 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $13,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $344,000. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 42.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 243,172 shares of the company's stock worth $8,304,000 after acquiring an additional 72,949 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,829,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,637,000 after acquiring an additional 141,612 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,503,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,491,000 after purchasing an additional 621,445 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,658,000. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EPRT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $36.25 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.44.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of EPRT traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $33.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,314,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,329,980. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.42 and a 52-week high of $34.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 5.59 and a current ratio of 5.59.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $117.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.73 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 46.00%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is 100.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total transaction of $899,323.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,421,637.08. The trade was a 5.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

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.