Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Acquires New Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 198,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,210,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned about 0.11% of Essential Properties Realty Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,834.4% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,180 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 215.4% in 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 during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 275.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total value of $959,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 218,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,998,932.15. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EPRT. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. B. Riley cut shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Capital One Financial began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 0.6 %

Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $31.70 on Monday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.86 and a 52 week high of $34.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a current ratio of 5.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $31.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.08.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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