Bank of Montreal Can Increases Stock Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 237.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,100,485 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,478,451 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 1.20% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $65,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 6,168 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,422,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,342,000 after purchasing an additional 284,036 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 236,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,404,000 after purchasing an additional 20,982 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,196,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 329,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,303,000 after purchasing an additional 20,049 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 7.8 %

Shares of EPRT stock opened at $30.68 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.23. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.72 and a twelve month high of $34.88. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EPRT shares. Barclays reduced their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.91.

Insider Activity 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 that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total value of $406,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at $5,817,663.90. The trade was a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

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.