Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Stock Rating Lowered by B. Riley

B. Riley lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $33.50 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $29.50.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Capital One Financial began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company 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 stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.55.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

EPRT stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.81. 1,001,378 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,064,139. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $34.88. The stock has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's 50-day moving average is $31.59 and its 200 day moving average is $32.16.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.295 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 103.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,033,209 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,535,000 after acquiring an additional 96,615 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,651,728 shares of the company's stock worth $145,506,000 after buying an additional 1,178,284 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,468,922 shares of the company's stock worth $152,642,000 after buying an additional 118,927 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,422,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,342,000 after buying an additional 284,036 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,948,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,246,000 after acquiring an additional 469,610 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by 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.