Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 4,681.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,997,593 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,913,986 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $118,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EPRT. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 9,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 82.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.2% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 6,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of EPRT opened at $29.68 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.34. 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 (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $158.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.87 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 43.46%.Essential Properties Realty Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. 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 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 100.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EPRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 19,657 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total transaction of $630,989.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 76,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,456,452.50. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Webb Salisbury sold 5,851 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,922.80. The trade was a 41.32% 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 company insiders.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

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.