Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Cuts Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. trimmed its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,417 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,644 shares during the quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $1,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,834.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 215.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 275.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of EPRT opened at $32.84 on Tuesday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.23 and a 12-month high of $34.88. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.35.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 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, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.51%.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,817,663.90. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on EPRT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley cut Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho increased their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.48.

Essential Properties Realty Trust 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.