Scotiabank Lowers Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Price Target to $34.00

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) had its price target cut by stock analysts at Scotiabank from $35.00 to $34.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank’s price target points to a potential upside of 10.77% from the company’s current price.

EPRT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $36.55.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of EPRT stock opened at $30.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.17, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.12. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $28.95 and a twelve month high of $34.73.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $158.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.87 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 43.46% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.050 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, CFO Robert Webb Salisbury sold 5,851 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total transaction of $186,529.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,922.80. This trade represents a 41.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP A Joseph Peil sold 19,657 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total value of $630,989.70. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 76,525 shares in the company, valued at $2,456,452.50. The trade was a 20.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essential Properties Realty Trust

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EPRT. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 159.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 74,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 45,561 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 3,981 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,387,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,279,000 after buying an additional 195,057 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $2,350,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 145,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,652,000 after buying an additional 32,254 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company Profile

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: EPRT) is a self-administered real estate investment trust that acquires, owns and manages single-tenant commercial properties subject to long-term, triple-net leases. The company’s portfolio primarily consists of small-box retail and industrial assets, including convenience stores, automotive service centers, quick-service restaurants, fitness centers and other necessity-based businesses. Under a triple-net lease structure, tenants assume responsibility for property taxes, insurance and most maintenance expenses, providing Essential Properties with predictable, stable cash flows.

Since its founding in April 2016 and its initial public offering later that year, Essential Properties has pursued a growth strategy focused on partnering with creditworthy tenants operating in densely populated trade areas.