Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Increases Stock Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,712,800 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 66,058 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.98% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $58,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 95.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP increased 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. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 686 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 116.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,046 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EPRT shares. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Raymond James raised 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 report on Wednesday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total value of $899,323.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 446,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,421,637.08. This represents a 5.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of EPRT stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.74. 231,470 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,333,207. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.10 and a 12 month high of $34.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 5.59 and a current ratio of 5.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.37.

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). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 46.00% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The business had revenue of $117.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The company's revenue was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.87%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company 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.