Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from “hold” to “sell,” despite the broader analyst consensus remaining “Moderate Buy” with a $33.23 target price.
• EPRT shares opened at $26.64, while the company’s latest quarterly results showed revenue rising 15.5% year over year to $168.67 million but earnings per share missing estimates, coming in at $0.27 versus $0.33 expected.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 96.98%, with several investment firms increasing their positions during the third quarter.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.23.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 1.5%

EPRT stock opened at $26.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 8.17 and a current ratio of 4.94. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a one year low of $24.62 and a one year high of $34.73. The company's 50 day moving average price is $27.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.01.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $168.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $158.17 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 5.95% and a net margin of 41.03%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 57.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,419 shares of the company's stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,588 shares of the company's stock worth $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 6,063 shares during the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $250,000. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 33,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund PDN lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pensionfund PDN now owns 68,500 shares of the company's stock worth $1,768,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company's stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company Profile

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc NYSE: EPRT is an internally managed real estate investment trust that acquires, owns and manages single-tenant commercial properties. The company primarily leases these properties to middle-market businesses under long-term, net lease agreements, which generally require tenants to pay a substantial portion of the property's operating expenses, including taxes, insurance and maintenance.

EPRT's portfolio is diversified across businesses such as automotive services, medical services, restaurants, retail, early childhood education and other service-oriented industries.

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