Analysts Set Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Target Price at $34.91

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.91.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, B. Riley lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $30.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.07. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $24.72 and a 12-month high of $34.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.38. The company has a quick ratio of 5.36, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. Analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 103.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total value of $406,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,817,663.90. This represents a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EPRT. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 118.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,176,000 after buying an additional 161,697 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $287,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,138,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,336,000 after acquiring an additional 76,475 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,594,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,462,000 after acquiring an additional 98,467 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 94,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,946,000 after purchasing an additional 26,234 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company Profile

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.