Essential Properties Realty Trust Insiders Sold US$1.1m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy

Over the past year, many Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for Essential Properties Realty Trust

Essential Properties Realty Trust Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Independent Director, Stephen Sautel, for US$951k worth of shares, at about US$27.39 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$31.54, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 13% of Stephen Sautel's stake.

In the last year Essential Properties Realty Trust insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Essential Properties Realty Trust Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust. In total, Executive VP & Head of Investments Max Jenkins sold US$185k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Does Essential Properties Realty Trust Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Essential Properties Realty Trust insiders own 0.4% of the company, worth about US$24m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Essential Properties Realty Trust Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Essential Properties Realty Trust shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But since Essential Properties Realty Trust is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (1 is potentially serious!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Essential Properties Realty Trust.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.