Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Stock Has Average Target Price of $35.20 According to Analysts

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.20.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho dropped their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $36.25 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE EPRT opened at $25.33 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $28.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.35. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a one year low of $24.62 and a one year high of $34.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 8.17 and a current ratio of 8.17. The firm has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 6.34%. The business had revenue of $161.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.010-2.050 EPS. Analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 99.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, COO Robert M. Jenkins sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.22, for a total transaction of $708,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 34,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,100,892.96. This trade represents a 39.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 79.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 273.6% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 21.1% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust that owns and manages a diversified portfolio of single-tenant commercial properties. The company generally leases its properties to businesses under long-term, triple-net agreements, under which tenants are typically responsible for property taxes, insurance and maintenance expenses.

Essential Properties focuses primarily on service-oriented and experience-based businesses, including automotive services, health and fitness, medical and dental services, restaurants, early childhood education and other businesses that are often less suited to traditional retail real estate.