Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have an average recommendation of Buy on EPRT from 11 firms (nine buys, one hold, one strong buy) with a 12‑month average target of $36.95 and several recent price‑target upgrades.
• Essential Properties reported Q1 EPS of $0.28, missing consensus of $0.33, while revenue rose 22.8% to $158.8M and management set FY 2026 guidance at $2.00–$2.05 EPS.
• Insiders sold shares in March (CFO sold 5,851 at $31.88; VP sold 19,657 at $32.10), reducing insider ownership to 0.77%, while institutional investors own about 96.98% of the stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.95.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $36.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CFO Robert Webb Salisbury sold 5,851 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total value of $186,529.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,310 shares in the company, valued at $264,922.80. The trade was a 41.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP A Joseph Peil sold 19,657 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total transaction of $630,989.70. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 76,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,456,452.50. The trade was a 20.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EPRT. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,242,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,378,414 shares of the company's stock worth $70,782,000 after buying an additional 115,567 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 104.9% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 60,838 shares of the company's stock worth $1,811,000 after buying an additional 31,143 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 138.7% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 56,991 shares of the company's stock worth $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 33,119 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 43.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,041,992 shares of the company's stock worth $31,010,000 after acquiring an additional 317,845 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company's stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:EPRT opened at $31.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.91. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $28.95 and a twelve month high of $34.73. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $32.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.31. The company has a quick ratio of 5.12, a current ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $158.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.87 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 43.46% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.050 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.64%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company Profile

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.

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