Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts remain bullish on EPRT, with 12 covering analysts giving it an average rating of “Buy.” Eleven rate it a buy and one a strong buy, with a consensus 12-month price target of about $36.41.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed but mostly positive, including target price increases from Wells Fargo and Stifel and rating upgrades from Weiss Ratings and Scotiabank. Mizuho trimmed its target, but still kept an outperform rating.
• The company recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.28, below expectations, even as revenue rose 22.8% year over year to $158.8 million. It also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 3.8%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Buy" from the twelve analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.4091.

Several analysts recently issued reports on EPRT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Scotiabank raised shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $33.00 in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $36.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.3%

EPRT opened at $33.25 on Wednesday. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $28.95 and a 52-week high of $34.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 5.12, a current ratio of 5.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm's 50 day moving average is $30.82 and its 200-day moving average is $31.38.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $158.80 million for 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%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is presently 100.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 7.3% during the second quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 29,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 45.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,329,642 shares of the company's stock worth $40,368,000 after acquiring an additional 415,666 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 194,596 shares of the company's stock worth $5,908,000 after acquiring an additional 8,343 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 177.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 736,225 shares of the company's stock worth $22,352,000 after acquiring an additional 470,711 shares during the period. Finally, Adelante Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 58.1% in the 1st quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 650,129 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,738,000 after purchasing an additional 238,816 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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