Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Buys Shares of 2,034,345 Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,034,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,473,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EPRT. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5,380.1% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,881,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,618 shares during the last quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 3,964.9% in the 3rd quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 1,111,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,962,000 after buying an additional 1,084,287 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 434.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,086,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,105,000 after acquiring an additional 883,053 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the second quarter valued at $21,274,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,669.8% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 603,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,610,000 after acquiring an additional 569,400 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EPRT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Mizuho upped their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.44.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $32.67 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 5.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $34.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.93. The company has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $117.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.73 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 46.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.