Brokerages Set Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Target Price at $29.00

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.00.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $28.50 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price (up previously from $27.50) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Friday, May 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

EPRT stock opened at $27.85 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.93. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.35. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $20.49 and a 52-week high of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 7.61 and a current ratio of 7.61.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 94.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 1,200 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $33,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 513,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,371,392. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 20,863 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.54, for a total value of $574,567.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 514,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,168,338.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 1,200 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total transaction of $33,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 513,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,371,392. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,063 shares of company stock worth $1,285,417. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essential Properties Realty Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,377,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,079 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,931,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543,346 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 31.4% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,305,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,534 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 7.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,697,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,904,000 after acquiring an additional 187,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,614,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,947,000 after acquiring an additional 393,041 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

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.