Barclays Lowers Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Price Target to $37.00

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Barclays from $40.00 to $37.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 11.27% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on EPRT. Scotiabank raised shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $34.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Mizuho cut their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $36.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.14.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EPRT opened at $33.25 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.88. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 12 month low of $28.95 and a 12 month high of $34.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 5.12 and a quick ratio of 5.12.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.05). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 43.46%.The business had revenue of $158.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.87 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EPRT. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 111.6% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 18,611,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $552,031,000 after buying an additional 9,816,042 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,930,360.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,737,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,829,000 after acquiring an additional 6,736,959 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4,681.4% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,997,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,569,000 after acquiring an additional 3,913,986 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 195.4% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,970,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,467,000. 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 (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.