Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Price Target Increased to $36.25 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $32.00 to $36.25 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on EPRT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $32.13.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE EPRT traded up $0.11 during trading on Thursday, hitting $33.96. 1,111,669 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,377,831. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.37. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $20.49 and a 12-month high of $34.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 4.90 and a current ratio of 4.90. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.30 and a 200-day moving average of $28.40.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.13). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 48.12% and a return on equity of 6.28%. The company had revenue of $109.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $102.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 directly owns 446,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,421,637.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total value of $899,323.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 446,076 shares in the company, valued at $14,421,637.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 20,863 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.54, for a total transaction of $574,567.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 514,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,168,338.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 62,592 shares of company stock worth $1,863,808. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 12,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 0.3% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 230,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,143,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 7.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 10,673 shares of the company's stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 42,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. 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.