Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Receives $33.91 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.91.

EPRT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $36.25 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at about $69,473,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5,380.1% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,881,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,149,000 after buying an additional 1,847,618 shares during the period. Adelante Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 3,964.9% in the third quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 1,111,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,962,000 after buying an additional 1,084,287 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 434.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,086,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,105,000 after buying an additional 883,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $21,274,000. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of EPRT opened at $31.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 5.59 and a current ratio of 5.59. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $34.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.37 and its 200-day moving average is $31.90.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.16). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 46.00% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The company had revenue of $117.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 102.61%.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

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.