UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Stock Price

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

A number of other research firms also recently commented on EPRT. Capital One Financial initiated coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. B. Riley downgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.77.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 2.4%

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

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last issued 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 company had revenue of $129.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.88 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total value of $406,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,817,663.90. This represents a 6.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EPRT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,341,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 51.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,062,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,504,000 after acquiring an additional 2,410,278 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $59,546,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 237.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,100,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478,451 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $37,224,000. 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.