EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,850,000 shares, an increase of 20.3% from the February 13th total of 2,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 668,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 3.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EPR Properties news, SVP Brian Andrew Moriarty sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $129,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $795,395.01. The trade was a 14.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Tonya L. Mater sold 3,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.90, for a total transaction of $161,928.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 46,827 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,321.30. This represents a 6.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,520 shares of company stock valued at $502,581 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of EPR Properties

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in EPR Properties by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,271 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of EPR Properties during the 4th quarter worth about $4,412,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EPR Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $410,000. Formidable Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in EPR Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $425,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in EPR Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.66% of the company’s stock.

EPR Properties Stock Performance

Shares of EPR Properties stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $51.30. The company had a trading volume of 116,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 697,964. EPR Properties has a 1-year low of $39.65 and a 1-year high of $54.25. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.21. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 7.81 and a quick ratio of 7.81.

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $149.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.25 million. EPR Properties had a net margin of 28.87% and a return on equity of 8.22%. As a group, equities analysts predict that EPR Properties will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EPR Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.90%. This is an increase from EPR Properties’s previous monthly dividend of $0.29. EPR Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 221.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on EPR. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of EPR Properties from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on EPR Properties from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on EPR Properties from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on EPR Properties from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.75.

About EPR Properties

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) is the leading diversified experiential net lease real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in select enduring experiential properties in the real estate industry. We focus on real estate venues that create value by facilitating out of home leisure and recreation experiences where consumers choose to spend their discretionary time and money.