Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.1136.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $36.25 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Robert M. Jenkins sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.22, for a total transaction of $708,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 34,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,100,892.96. This represents a 39.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EPRT. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 111.6% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 18,611,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,031,000 after acquiring an additional 9,816,042 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,131,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,488,000 after purchasing an additional 843,877 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,844,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,670,000 after purchasing an additional 421,364 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,930,360.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,737,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,829,000 after purchasing an additional 6,736,959 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,240,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,452,000 after purchasing an additional 25,857 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

EPRT stock opened at $32.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.98 and a 200-day moving average of $31.47. The company has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 8.17, a quick ratio of 8.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $28.95 and a 12-month high of $34.73.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.34% and a net margin of 43.51%.The business had revenue of $161.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.010-2.050 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.22%.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

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.