Hsbc Holdings PLC Grows Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. $EPRT

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 23.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,027,521 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 197,966 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $31,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 159.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 74,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,420,000 after buying an additional 45,561 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 3,981 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,387,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,279,000 after acquiring an additional 195,057 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth $2,350,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 28.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 145,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,652,000 after acquiring an additional 32,254 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on EPRT shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $36.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $34.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $36.41.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $33.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.38. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.95 and a 1 year high of $34.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 5.12 and a quick ratio of 5.12.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $158.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.87 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 43.46% and a return on equity of 6.30%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. 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 100.79%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company Profile

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.