M&T Bank Corp Reduces Stock Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,844 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,933 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $1,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 29.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,646,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,631,000 after purchasing an additional 372,040 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 244.3% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 427,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,958,000 after buying an additional 303,057 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 244,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,347,000 after acquiring an additional 51,196 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,503,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,491,000 after acquiring an additional 621,445 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,138,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,336,000 after acquiring an additional 76,475 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Up 0.6 %

EPRT stock opened at $32.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 5.59 and a quick ratio of 5.59. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $34.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $33.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.11.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.16). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 46.00% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The company 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 company posted $0.42 EPS. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s revenue was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on EPRT. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.77.

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.