Scotiabank Boosts Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Price Target to $32.00

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) had its target price raised by Scotiabank from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on EPRT. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They issued an outperform rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a buy rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $36.25 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $32.75.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of EPRT stock opened at $32.51 on Friday. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $20.49 and a 1 year high of $34.51. The company has a current ratio of 4.90, a quick ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.91 and its 200-day moving average is $29.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.37.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $102.99 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 48.12% and a return on equity of 6.28%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s revenue was up 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 94.31%.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total transaction of $899,323.61. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,421,637.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essential Properties Realty Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EPRT. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 611.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 122.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 116.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 54.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

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.