Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.13), Zacks reports. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 48.12%. The business had revenue of $109.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Properties Realty Trust updated its FY 2024 guidance to 1.720-1.750 EPS.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of EPRT stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.32. 303,848 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,366,821. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $20.49 and a 12-month high of $31.23. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.34, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.35. The company has a current ratio of 7.61, a quick ratio of 7.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. This is a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.31%.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 12,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total value of $356,317.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 500,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,030,472.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 25,000 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.09, for a total value of $677,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 247,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,704,558.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,030,472.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,775 shares of company stock valued at $1,641,734. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EPRT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Mizuho upped 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 report on Friday, May 10th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Properties Realty Trust has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.04.

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.