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

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.91.

Several equities analysts recently commented on EPRT shares. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. B. Riley cut Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, May 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 13,227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total value of $435,961.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 76,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,524,406.40. This represents a 14.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BROOKFIELD Corp ON increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 802,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,208,000 after buying an additional 211,310 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC bought a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $762,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,071,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $587,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $587,000. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $32.04 on Tuesday. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $26.75 and a 52 week high of $34.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.84. The company has a quick ratio of 5.36, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.10.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. The business had revenue of $129.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.35%.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc, a real estate company, acquires, owns, and manages single-tenant properties in the United States. The company leases its properties to middle-market companies, such as restaurants, car washes, automotive services, medical and dental services, convenience stores, equipment rental, entertainment, early childhood education, grocery, and health and fitness on a long-term basis.