Short Interest in EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) Grows By 20.3%

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,850,000 shares, an increase of 20.3% from the February 13th total of 2,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 668,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at EPR Properties

In related news, CAO Tonya L. Mater sold 3,120 shares of EPR Properties stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.90, for a total value of $161,928.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 46,827 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,321.30. This trade represents a 6.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brian Andrew Moriarty sold 2,500 shares of EPR Properties stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total transaction of $129,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,520 shares of company stock worth $502,581. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of EPR Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of EPR Properties in the fourth quarter worth approximately $302,313,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of EPR Properties by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,425,119 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $69,904,000 after acquiring an additional 7,429 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of EPR Properties by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,380,301 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $61,120,000 after acquiring an additional 30,401 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of EPR Properties by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,145,267 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,712,000 after acquiring an additional 60,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of EPR Properties by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,129,098 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,996,000 after acquiring an additional 123,400 shares in the last quarter. 74.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

EPR Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EPR traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 746,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,506. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.18. EPR Properties has a one year low of $39.66 and a one year high of $54.25. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22 and a beta of 1.72.

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) last released its 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 business had revenue of $149.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.25 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that EPR Properties will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

EPR Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This is an increase from EPR Properties’s previous monthly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. EPR Properties’s payout ratio is presently 221.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

EPR Properties Company Profile

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.