Scotiabank Increases Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Price Target to $30.00

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) had its target price increased by research analysts at Scotiabank from $28.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank’s price target suggests a potential upside of 4.38% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI downgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $32.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.25 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.54.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of EPRT traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,013,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,384,932. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.58. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $20.49 and a 1-year high of $31.23. The company has a quick ratio of 4.90, a current ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.35.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $109.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.99 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.28% and a net margin of 48.12%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s revenue was up 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total transaction of $33,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 513,264 shares in the company, valued at $14,371,392. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 12,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $356,317.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 500,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,030,472.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total transaction of $33,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 513,264 shares in the company, valued at $14,371,392. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,775 shares of company stock valued at $964,484 in the last three months. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,377,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $676,561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,079 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 18.4% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,697,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,904,000 after acquiring an additional 187,256 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,614,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,947,000 after buying an additional 393,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,230,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,004,000 after acquiring an additional 21,058 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.