Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) Stock

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $45.00 to $52.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential downside of 0.11% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of EPR Properties in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on EPR Properties from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on EPR Properties from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.13.

EPR Properties Price Performance

EPR opened at $52.06 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.53 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a current ratio of 7.81, a quick ratio of 7.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. EPR Properties has a 12-month low of $39.65 and a 12-month high of $54.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.04.

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.56. EPR Properties had a net margin of 28.87% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $149.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.25 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that EPR Properties will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at EPR Properties

In related news, SVP Gwendolyn Mary Johnson sold 3,900 shares of EPR Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.02, for a total value of $210,678.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,216 shares in the company, valued at $443,828.32. This trade represents a 32.19 % decrease in their position. 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of EPR Properties during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in EPR Properties during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in EPR Properties by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of EPR Properties by 54.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of EPR Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.