Hsbc Holdings PLC Raises Stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 54.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 217,975 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 76,742 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.12% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $6,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,834.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 215.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 275.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EPRT. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. B. Riley downgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.91.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total value of $959,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 218,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,998,932.15. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $31.79 on Tuesday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.86 and a twelve month high of $34.88. The company has a quick ratio of 5.36, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $31.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.08. The firm has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. The firm had revenue of $129.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 102.61%.

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.