Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.4091.

EPRT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Scotiabank raised shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $34.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $31.14 on Friday. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $28.95 and a 1-year 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.22. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $158.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.050 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 100.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 111.6% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 18,611,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,031,000 after buying an additional 9,816,042 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position 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 worth $199,829,000 after buying an additional 6,736,959 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position 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 worth $118,569,000 after buying an additional 3,913,986 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position 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 buying an additional 2,626,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $68,467,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

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.