Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $34.61 and last traded at $34.50, with a volume of 46805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EPRT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James upped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $36.25 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.44.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 5.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.54, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.53.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.16). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 46.00% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The company had revenue of $117.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.73 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 27.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 27,817 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total transaction of $899,323.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 446,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,421,637.08. This trade represents a 5.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EPRT. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,646,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,631,000 after buying an additional 372,040 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 244.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 427,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,958,000 after purchasing an additional 303,057 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 244,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,347,000 after buying an additional 51,196 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,503,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,491,000 after buying an additional 621,445 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 31.4% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 157,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,205,000 after buying an additional 37,729 shares during the period. 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.