185,529 Shares in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 185,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,538,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPRT. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 975,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,051,000 after purchasing an additional 126,372 shares during the period. Strs Ohio raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 719,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,343,000 after buying an additional 157,600 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,930,360.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,737,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,829,000 after buying an additional 6,736,959 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 111.6% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 18,611,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $552,031,000 after buying an additional 9,816,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,397,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,440,000 after acquiring an additional 115,768 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, COO Robert M. Jenkins sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.22, for a total transaction of $708,840.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 34,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,100,892.96. The trade was a 39.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

NYSE EPRT opened at $30.88 on Friday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.95 and a 1 year high of $34.73. The business’s fifty day moving average is $31.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 8.17 and a current ratio of 8.17.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $161.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.65 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.34% and a net margin of 43.51%.The company’s revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.010-2.050 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on EPRT. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.20.

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.