Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Price Target Raised to $33.00

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) had its price objective upped by Evercore ISI from $32.00 to $33.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the stock.

EPRT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho upped their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Wedbush started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Monday, August 19th. They issued an outperform rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.25 to $32.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $31.73.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of EPRT stock opened at $31.91 on Wednesday. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $20.49 and a 1-year high of $32.04. The company has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 4.90 and a quick ratio of 4.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.27.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $109.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.99 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.28% and a net margin of 48.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.31%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 20,863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.54, for a total transaction of $574,567.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 514,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,168,338.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 20,863 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.54, for a total transaction of $574,567.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 514,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,168,338.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 12,712 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total value of $356,317.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 500,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,030,472.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,775 shares of company stock valued at $964,484. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $48,312,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5,380.1% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,881,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,618 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,931,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,841,000 after buying an additional 1,543,346 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,377,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $676,561,000 after buying an additional 1,060,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $21,274,000. 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, a real estate company, acquires, owns, and manages single-tenant properties in the United States. The company leases its properties to middle-market companies, such as restaurants, car washes, automotive services, medical and dental services, convenience stores, equipment rental, entertainment, early childhood education, grocery, and health and fitness on a long-term basis.