Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Given “Overweight” Rating at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $37.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $34.00.

EPRT has been the subject of several other reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wedbush began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Monday, August 19th. They issued an outperform rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $36.25 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $32.37.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 1.9 %

EPRT opened at $33.51 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.90, a current ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $20.49 and a 52 week high of $34.51. The stock has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.49 and a 200-day moving average of $28.62.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $109.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.99 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 48.12% and a return on equity of 6.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.31%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total value of $899,323.61. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 446,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,421,637.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Essential Properties Realty Trust 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 transaction of $899,323.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,421,637.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 12,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $356,317.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 500,552 shares in the company, valued at $14,030,472.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essential Properties Realty Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 5,380.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,881,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,618 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,931,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,543,346 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,377,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $676,561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,079 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $21,274,000. Finally, Hazelview Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 112.9% in the first quarter. Hazelview Securities Inc. now owns 867,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,731,000 after purchasing an additional 460,065 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.