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

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.22.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EPRT. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $27.00 to $27.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Citigroup raised Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $25.00 to $28.50 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Mizuho reduced their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Raymond James raised their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target (up previously from $27.50) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:EPRT opened at $26.33 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $25.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.45. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $20.49 and a 1-year high of $26.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 5.01 and a quick ratio of 5.01. The firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.27.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 9,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total value of $238,979.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 554,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,433,053.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 5,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.08, for a total transaction of $143,307.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 565,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,192,571.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 9,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $238,979.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 554,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,433,053.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,524 shares of company stock worth $1,113,438. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 666.8% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 2,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.