Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Receives $34.91 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.91.

Several brokerages have commented on EPRT. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley cut Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total transaction of $959,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 218,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,998,932.15. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 284,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,080,000 after acquiring an additional 19,049 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 2.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,035,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,069,000 after purchasing an additional 86,244 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.4% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 43,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 44.9% during the first quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 238,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,798,000 after purchasing an additional 73,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 107.9% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 37,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 19,715 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE EPRT opened at $32.20 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.08. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $26.07 and a fifty-two week high of $34.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 5.36.

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

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 102.61%.

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.