Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Lowers Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky reduced its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 130,466 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,286 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.07% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $4,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Selective Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 21,709 shares of the company's stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 50,884 shares of the company's stock worth $1,592,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 18,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. Finally, United Services Automobile Association increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 11,183 shares of the company's stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:EPRT opened at $32.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $25.60 and a one year 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $31.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.10.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 103.51%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total value of $406,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,817,663.90. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EPRT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Finally, B. Riley cut shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.91.

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.

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