Mizuho Cuts Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Price Target to $34.00

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Mizuho from $37.00 to $34.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Mizuho’s price target points to a potential upside of 8.78% from the stock’s current price.

EPRT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $36.55.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Down 0.3%

Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $31.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 5.12 and a quick ratio of 5.12. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $28.95 and a fifty-two week high of $34.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $32.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.31.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $158.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.87 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 43.46%.The firm’s revenue was up 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.050 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, CFO Robert Webb Salisbury sold 5,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total transaction of $186,529.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,922.80. This represents a 41.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP A Joseph Peil sold 19,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total transaction of $630,989.70. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 76,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,456,452.50. This represents a 20.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essential Properties Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPRT. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 111.6% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 18,611,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,031,000 after acquiring an additional 9,816,042 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,930,360.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,737,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,829,000 after acquiring an additional 6,736,959 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4,681.4% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,997,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,569,000 after acquiring an additional 3,913,986 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 195.4% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,970,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,171,000 after acquiring an additional 2,626,478 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,467,000. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: EPRT) is a self-administered real estate investment trust that acquires, owns and manages single-tenant commercial properties subject to long-term, triple-net leases. The company’s portfolio primarily consists of small-box retail and industrial assets, including convenience stores, automotive service centers, quick-service restaurants, fitness centers and other necessity-based businesses. Under a triple-net lease structure, tenants assume responsibility for property taxes, insurance and most maintenance expenses, providing Essential Properties with predictable, stable cash flows.

Since its founding in April 2016 and its initial public offering later that year, Essential Properties has pursued a growth strategy focused on partnering with creditworthy tenants operating in densely populated trade areas.