Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (EPRT) – What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.46.

Several research analysts recently commented on EPRT shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $38.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Trading of Essential Properties Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPRT. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 53.5% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 48,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 16,758 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 2.4% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 112,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,900,000 after acquiring an additional 2,676 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 28.6% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 15,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 3,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 3.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 23,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $28.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 4.94 and a quick ratio of 4.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.40. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 12 month low of $24.62 and a 12 month high of $34.73.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $168.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $158.17 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 5.95% and a net margin of 41.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 104.07%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company Profile

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE:EPRT) is an internally managed real estate investment trust that acquires, owns and manages single-tenant commercial properties. The company primarily leases these properties to middle-market businesses under long-term, net lease agreements, which generally require tenants to pay a substantial portion of the property’s operating expenses, including taxes, insurance and maintenance.

EPRT’s portfolio is diversified across businesses such as automotive services, medical services, restaurants, retail, early childhood education and other service-oriented industries.