Scotiabank Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Stock Price

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) had its price target cut by analysts at Scotiabank from $33.00 to $32.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 2.03% from the company’s previous close.

EPRT has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. B. Riley cut Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.48.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of EPRT stock opened at $32.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.32. The company has a quick ratio of 5.36, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.40. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. Research analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total value of $406,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at $5,817,663.90. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 26.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 244,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,347,000 after purchasing an additional 51,196 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,503,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,491,000 after acquiring an additional 621,445 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.0% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,712,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,492,000 after acquiring an additional 66,058 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 118.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,176,000 after acquiring an additional 161,697 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,138,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,336,000 after acquiring an additional 76,475 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.