EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $54.12 and last traded at $54.15, with a volume of 136781 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $53.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EPR. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of EPR Properties from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of EPR Properties in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on EPR Properties in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.50.

EPR Properties Stock Up 0.8 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.81. The company has a current ratio of 7.81, a quick ratio of 7.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.10 and a beta of 1.75.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.56. EPR Properties had a net margin of 28.87% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $149.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.25 million. Research analysts expect that EPR Properties will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

EPR Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.63%. This is a boost 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 is currently 213.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at EPR Properties

In other news, SVP Gwendolyn Mary Johnson sold 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.02, for a total transaction of $210,678.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $443,828.32. The trade was a 32.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of EPR Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $302,313,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of EPR Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,148,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in EPR Properties by 304.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 457,621 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,442,000 after purchasing an additional 344,544 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in EPR Properties by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,085,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,086,000 after buying an additional 334,943 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of EPR Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $13,145,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.66% of the company’s stock.

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.