Short Interest in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Increases By 9.4%

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,060,000 shares, an increase of 9.4% from the October 31st total of 18,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,220,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 16.4 days.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of EPRT traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $33.25. The company had a trading volume of 166,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,317,706. The firm has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.81. The company has a quick ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 5.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $117.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.73 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 46.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total value of $899,323.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,421,637.08. This trade represents a 5.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essential Properties Realty Trust

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 95.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.6% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.2% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 122.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on EPRT. Wedbush began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Monday, August 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.44.

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.