Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 2,979 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 1.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 154,752 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,979 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $5,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $69,473,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5,380.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,881,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,618 shares in the last quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 3,964.9% in the 3rd quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 1,111,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,287 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 434.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,086,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,105,000 after purchasing an additional 883,053 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at about $21,274,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EPRT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.77.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.9 %

Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $32.68 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.16). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 46.00%. The business had revenue of $117.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.73 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.61%.

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.