Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.30 (NYSE:EPRT)

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.295 per share on Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st.

Essential Properties Realty Trust has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.1% per year over the last three years. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a dividend payout ratio of 90.1% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Research analysts expect Essential Properties Realty Trust to earn $1.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.18 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 59.6%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of EPRT opened at $32.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 12 month low of $24.72 and a 12 month high of $34.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.83 and its 200-day moving average is $32.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. Equities research analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on EPRT. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley downgraded 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays reduced their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Capital One Financial started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Three 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 $34.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,817,663.90. This represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

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.