Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Short Interest Update

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,250,000 shares, a decline of 36.7% from the December 15th total of 19,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on EPRT. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $35.94 price target on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $36.25 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $31.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 775,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,247,602. 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 has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $34.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.79. The stock has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.39.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $117.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.73 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 46.00% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. This is a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is presently 102.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EPRT. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 95.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 611.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 215.4% during the fourth 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 during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 63.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,173 shares of the company's stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company's stock.

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.