Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (EPRT) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 31st

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

Essential Properties Realty Trust has raised its dividend by an average of 5.1% annually over the last three years. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a dividend payout ratio of 90.1% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Equities 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EPRT opened at $32.58 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.40. The firm has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. 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 1-year low of $24.72 and a 1-year high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,817,663.90. The trade was a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EPRT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. B. Riley downgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.91.

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.