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

Key Points

• Analysts remain bullish on EPRT: Essential Properties Realty Trust has a consensus "Buy" rating from 12 analysts, with an average 1-year price target of $36.50.
• Recent insider selling: VP A Joseph Peil and CFO Robert Webb Salisbury both sold shares in March, reducing their ownership stakes by 20.44% and 41.32%, respectively.
• Latest results and dividend details: The company reported Q1 EPS of $0.28, missing estimates, while revenue came in above forecasts; it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, yielding about 4.1%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.50.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Scotiabank lowered 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 report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Insider Activity

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 19,657 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total value of $630,989.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 76,525 shares in the company, valued at $2,456,452.50. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert Webb Salisbury sold 5,851 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total transaction of $186,529.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at $264,922.80. This trade represents a 41.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EPRT. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 111.6% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 18,611,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $552,031,000 after purchasing an additional 9,816,042 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,930,360.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 6,736,959 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4,681.4% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,997,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,569,000 after purchasing an additional 3,913,986 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 195.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,626,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,467,000. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Down 2.1%

NYSE EPRT opened at $29.93 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 5.12 and a quick ratio of 5.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 23.57, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.91. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $28.95 and a 1 year high of $34.73. The business's 50-day moving average is $31.40 and its 200 day moving average is $31.36.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $158.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.050 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.64%.

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.

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