Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

EPRT has been the topic of several other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho reduced 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 note on Wednesday, May 13th. Scotiabank upgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $33.00 in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.20.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of EPRT opened at $29.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 8.17, a current ratio of 8.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $28.95 and a twelve month high of $34.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.12 and a 200-day moving average of $31.46.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 6.34%. The business had revenue of $161.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 research analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, COO Robert M. Jenkins sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.22, for a total transaction of $708,840.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 34,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,100,892.96. This represents a 39.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EPRT. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 159.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 74,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 45,561 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 21.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 16.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,387,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,279,000 after purchasing an additional 195,057 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the first quarter worth about $2,350,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 28.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 145,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,652,000 after buying an additional 32,254 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.