Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.75.

A number of analysts have commented on EPRT shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wedbush started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Monday, August 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $37.00 price target (up previously from $34.00) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total value of $899,323.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 446,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,421,637.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position 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 worth $52,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,618 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $676,561,000 after buying an additional 1,060,079 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at about $21,274,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,669.8% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 603,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,610,000 after acquiring an additional 569,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $33.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.05. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 12 month low of $20.49 and a 12 month high of $34.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 4.90 and a quick ratio of 4.90.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.13). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 48.12% and a return on equity of 6.28%. The firm had revenue of $109.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 94.31%.

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.