London Co. of Virginia Decreases Holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

London Co. of Virginia trimmed its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 983,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,228 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia owned about 0.45% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $29,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 239.0% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 19,038 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at about $294,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at about $847,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 157.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,323,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,189,000 after acquiring an additional 809,367 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 17.3% during the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 11,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $32.34 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.88. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $28.95 and a one year high of $34.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 8.17 and a quick ratio of 5.12.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 6.34%. The firm had revenue of $161.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.65 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 99.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EPRT shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Scotiabank upgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $36.11.

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.