Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Boosts Stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 101.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 565,130 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 284,502 shares during the quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP owned about 0.29% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $18,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the first quarter worth $92,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at about $108,000. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on EPRT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Berenberg Bank started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $34.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.32.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of EPRT opened at $30.51 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 5.66 and a current ratio of 5.66. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $27.44 and a one year high of $33.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.64 and its 200-day moving average is $30.92.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.48. The business had revenue of $144.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.42 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.25% and a return on equity of 6.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.040 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 1.870-1.890 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 96.77%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company 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.