Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Raises Dividend to $0.31 Per Share

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.31 per share on Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a 3.3% increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30.

Essential Properties Realty Trust has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year 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 89.6% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Research 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 $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 60.6%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $31.02. 1,894,830 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,727,410. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.97. The company has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 5.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $27.44 and a 1 year high of $33.35.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.48. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.25% and a return on equity of 6.38%. The firm had revenue of $144.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.42 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. Essential Properties Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.040 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 1.870-1.890 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EPRT. Berenberg Bank began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI raised Essential Properties Realty Trust from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.54.

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.