Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Given New $36.25 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) had its price objective lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $32.00 to $36.25 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on EPRT. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set an outperform rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $32.13.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of EPRT stock opened at $34.15 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.90, a current ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.50. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $20.49 and a 52 week high of $34.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.37.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.13). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.28% and a net margin of 48.12%. The company had revenue of $109.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 94.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,421,637.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 12,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $356,317.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 500,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,030,472.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total transaction of $899,323.61. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 446,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,421,637.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,729 shares of company stock valued at $1,289,241. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in 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 worth $52,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,618 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $253,841,000 after buying an additional 1,543,346 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,377,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,079 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the second quarter worth about $21,274,000. Finally, Hazelview Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 112.9% during the 1st quarter. Hazelview Securities Inc. now owns 867,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,731,000 after acquiring an additional 460,065 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.