UBS Group Cuts Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Price Target to $37.00

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) had its target price reduced by UBS Group from $40.00 to $37.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other 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 issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Barclays decreased 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, B. Riley cut shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.77.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $31.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.09. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $26.07 and a 12-month high of $34.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 5.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.95.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $129.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.88 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,817,663.90. The trade was a 6.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essential Properties Realty Trust

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 409,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,805,000 after purchasing an additional 111,376 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth $287,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 94,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,946,000 after buying an additional 26,234 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,872,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,866,000 after buying an additional 43,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $346,000. 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.