Meritage Portfolio Management Decreases Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 164,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,519 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management owned about 0.09% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $5,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 95.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 215.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 63.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EPRT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised 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 research note on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.85.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of EPRT stock opened at $31.59 on Wednesday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $34.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.08. The firm has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.40. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 102.61%.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

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.