Cohen & Steers Inc. Raises Stock Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 111.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,611,967 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,816,042 shares during the period. Essential Properties Realty Trust comprises about 1.0% of Cohen & Steers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned about 9.39% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $552,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EPRT. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,930,360.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,737,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,829,000 after purchasing an additional 6,736,959 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4,681.4% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,997,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,569,000 after purchasing an additional 3,913,986 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 195.4% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,970,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,478 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $68,467,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,803,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425,082 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Up 1.7%

EPRT stock opened at $30.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.12. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.95 and a fifty-two week high of $34.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.05). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 43.46%.The company had revenue of $158.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.050 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 97.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert Webb Salisbury sold 5,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total transaction of $186,529.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,922.80. This trade represents a 41.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP A Joseph Peil sold 19,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total transaction of $630,989.70. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 76,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,456,452.50. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.50.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Profile

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: EPRT) is a self-administered real estate investment trust that acquires, owns and manages single-tenant commercial properties subject to long-term, triple-net leases. The company’s portfolio primarily consists of small-box retail and industrial assets, including convenience stores, automotive service centers, quick-service restaurants, fitness centers and other necessity-based businesses. Under a triple-net lease structure, tenants assume responsibility for property taxes, insurance and most maintenance expenses, providing Essential Properties with predictable, stable cash flows.

Since its founding in April 2016 and its initial public offering later that year, Essential Properties has pursued a growth strategy focused on partnering with creditworthy tenants operating in densely populated trade areas.