Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Coverage Initiated at Capital One Financial

Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Capital One Financial also issued estimates for Essential Properties Realty Trust's Q4 2024 earnings at $0.45 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $1.69 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.44 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.47 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.47 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.49 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.86 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.51 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.52 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.54 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.06 EPS.

EPRT has been the topic of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.25.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPRT traded up $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.26. 1,113,722 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 837,843. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.40. The business's fifty day moving average is $31.66 and its 200-day moving average is $32.12. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $34.88. The company has a quick ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 5.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 46.00%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is currently 102.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 26.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 244,424 shares of the company's stock worth $8,347,000 after buying an additional 51,196 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,503,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,491,000 after acquiring an additional 621,445 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,712,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,492,000 after acquiring an additional 66,058 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,989 shares of the company's stock worth $10,176,000 after purchasing an additional 161,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,138,674 shares of the company's stock worth $141,336,000 after purchasing an additional 76,475 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.