Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.91.

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

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

NYSE:EPRT opened at $31.76 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.81. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $34.88. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61, a PEG 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 (NYSE:EPRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.16). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 46.00%. The firm had revenue of $117.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EPRT. Selective Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 21,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 95.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. 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.