Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) PT Raised to $34.00

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) had its price target increased by Evercore ISI from $33.00 to $34.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on EPRT. Wedbush started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Monday, August 19th. They set an outperform rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.25 to $32.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $31.81.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:EPRT opened at $33.08 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.90, a current ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.37. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $20.49 and a twelve month high of $33.19. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.93.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $109.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.99 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 48.12% and a return on equity of 6.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $33,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 513,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,371,392. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total transaction of $33,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 12,712 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $356,317.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 500,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,030,472.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,592 shares of company stock worth $1,863,808. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPRT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,312,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5,380.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,881,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,618 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings 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 worth $253,841,000 after buying an additional 1,543,346 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,377,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,561,000 after buying an additional 1,060,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the second quarter valued at about $21,274,000. 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.