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

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.2045.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EPRT. Mizuho reduced their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 18th.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $31.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 8.17, a quick ratio of 8.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.54. The company has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.86. 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 posted its 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. The company had revenue of $161.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.65 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.34% and a net margin of 43.51%.Essential Properties Realty Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.010-2.050 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 99.22%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 975,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,051,000 after acquiring an additional 126,372 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 719,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,343,000 after purchasing an additional 157,600 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,930,360.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 111.6% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 18,611,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,031,000 after purchasing an additional 9,816,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,397,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,440,000 after purchasing an additional 115,768 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

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.