Insider Selling: Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) COO Sells $708,840.00 in Stock

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) COO Robert Jenkins sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.22, for a total transaction of $708,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 34,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,100,892.96. The trade was a 39.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $31.27 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $30.99 and its 200-day moving average is $31.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 8.17 and a current ratio of 8.17. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.95 and a 52 week high of $34.73. The company has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.34% and a net margin of 43.51%.The company had revenue of $161.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.010-2.050 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid 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 a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 99.22%.

Institutional Trading of Essential Properties Realty Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 111.6% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 18,611,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,031,000 after acquiring an additional 9,816,042 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,131,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,488,000 after purchasing an additional 843,877 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,844,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,670,000 after purchasing an additional 421,364 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,930,360.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,737,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,829,000 after buying an additional 6,736,959 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,240,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,452,000 after buying an additional 25,857 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $36.25 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.20.

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.