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

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, June 2nd, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.30 per share on Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. This is a 1.7% increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30.

Essential Properties Realty Trust has increased its dividend by an average of 5.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 6 consecutive years. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a dividend payout ratio of 88.1% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. 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 Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:EPRT traded up $0.24 on Tuesday, hitting $32.92. The company had a trading volume of 355,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,444,690. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.93. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $26.63 and a 1 year high of $34.88. The company has a quick ratio of 5.36, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.09.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. The company had revenue of $129.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on EPRT. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $37.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,387,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,279,000 after buying an additional 195,057 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 159.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 74,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 45,561 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,350,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.