Vestcor Inc Makes New Investment in EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR)

Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $98,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of EPR Properties by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 148,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of EPR Properties by 51.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of EPR Properties in the fourth quarter worth $302,313,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of EPR Properties by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 42,285 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 12,190 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of EPR Properties in the fourth quarter worth $1,559,000. Institutional investors own 74.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on EPR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on EPR Properties from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on EPR Properties from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on EPR Properties from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on EPR Properties from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.75.

EPR Properties Stock Performance

Shares of EPR stock opened at $51.80 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $48.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.18. EPR Properties has a 12 month low of $39.66 and a 12 month high of $54.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a current ratio of 7.81, a quick ratio of 7.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.56. EPR Properties had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 28.87%. The firm had revenue of $149.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.25 million. Equities research analysts forecast that EPR Properties will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

EPR Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.83%. This is a positive change from EPR Properties’s previous monthly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. EPR Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 221.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Tonya L. Mater sold 3,120 shares of EPR Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.90, for a total value of $161,928.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 46,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,430,321.30. The trade was a 6.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brian Andrew Moriarty sold 2,500 shares of EPR Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $129,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $795,395.01. This represents a 14.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,520 shares of company stock valued at $502,581 over the last ninety days. 2.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About EPR Properties

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) is the leading diversified experiential net lease real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in select enduring experiential properties in the real estate industry. We focus on real estate venues that create value by facilitating out of home leisure and recreation experiences where consumers choose to spend their discretionary time and money.