Essential Properties Realty (EPRT) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $6.80B
• Dividend Yield: 3.88%
• Average Volume (3M): 1.82M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 25.3
• Beta (1Y): 0.29
• Revenue Growth: 24.60%
• EPS Growth: 8.05%
• Country: US
• Employees: 48
• Sector: Real Estate
• Sector Strength: 53
• Industry: REIT - Diversified
• EPS (TTM): 0.34
• Shares Outstanding: 209,879,820
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 2,100,286
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 1,822,450
• PEG Ratio: 2.09
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.41
• Price to Sales (P/S): 10.55
• P/FCF Ratio: 15.56
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.38
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 16.66
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 19.82
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 18.04
• 1Y Price Target: $36.00
• Price Target Upside: 9.96% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Strong Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 10
• EPS Forecast (FY): 1.35
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $619.63M

• Rating: 80 Outperform
• Price Target: $37.00 ▲(13.01% Upside)

The score is driven primarily by strong financial performance (high profitability and cash generation) and a favorable earnings call with raised AFFO guidance and resilient portfolio metrics. Technicals are supportive with clear trend strength, while valuation is the main restraint due to the higher P/E despite a solid dividend yield.

Positive Factors

Cash generation

Multi-year free cash flow growth to $381.1M and tight conversion to net income shows durable cash generation. This funds dividends, supports disciplined acquisitions and deleveraging or liquidity buffers, reducing reliance on volatile capital markets for near-term operating needs.

Portfolio cash‑flow visibility

Very high occupancy, long WA lease terms and strong rent coverage create predictable, long-duration cash flows. Low near‑term rollover (only ~5.2% ABR expiring in five years) limits rental volatility and supports steady AFFO and dividend sustainability across market cycles.

Disciplined growth and investment yields

Management shows repeatable deployment at mid‑to‑high‑7% cash yields while raising AFFO guidance, indicating acquisition spreads have been accretive. Combined with stated liquidity and pipeline, this supports durable earnings growth through disciplined, relationship-driven sourcing.

Negative Factors

Modest organic rent growth

Low same‑store rent growth (~1.6%) suggests limited organic revenue upside from in‑place assets and restrained escalation dynamics. Over time this constrains AFFO expansion absent acquisitions or higher contractual escalations, making growth more dependent on new purchases.

Subsector concentration risk

A material allocation to car washes (~13.7%) raises idiosyncratic risk if that subsector weakens or faces regulatory/technology changes. Even with moderation, meaningful concentration can amplify cash‑flow volatility relative to more broadly diversified net‑lease portfolios.

Capital‑structure/data consistency uncertainty

A sudden reporting swing to $0 total debt in 2025 (from $2.13B) creates uncertainty about leverage, funding strategy and comparability. This may reflect large equity/forward sales or accounting shifts, complicating assessment of sustainable cost of capital and potential dilution or future refinancing needs.

Essential Properties Realty Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

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. As of December 31, 2021, it had a portfolio of 1, 451 properties. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.

How the Company Makes Money

Essential Properties Realty Trust generates revenue primarily through rental income from its portfolio of net lease properties. The company enters into long-term leases with tenants, which typically include fixed rental escalations, ensuring consistent cash flow over time. Additional revenue streams may come from lease renewals and increases in rental rates as market conditions improve. EPRT also benefits from its strategic focus on essential businesses, which tend to be more resilient during economic downturns, thus maintaining occupancy rates and minimizing tenant turnover. Partnerships with established brands and businesses in essential sectors further bolster its earnings, as these relationships often lead to stable, long-term leases.

Essential Properties Realty Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Strong multi-year revenue expansion and consistently high margins, supported by standout operating/free cash flow growth and clean conversion. Offsetting factors include a 2024 growth slowdown, lower 2025 profitability versus 2023, and a large 2025 debt-to-equity swing (to zero debt) that adds data consistency/capital-structure uncertainty.

Income Statement

Revenue has compounded strongly from $164.0M (2020) to $561.2M (2025), and profitability is consistently high with gross margins near ~97–99% and net margins generally in the ~42–53% range. That said, growth decelerated sharply in 2024 (near-flat year) before re-accelerating in 2025, and there is a clear profitability step-down in 2025 versus 2023 (net margin ~45% vs ~53%), indicating some pressure versus peak levels.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet shows meaningful scale-up in assets and equity over time, with returns on equity holding in the mid-single-digits (roughly ~5–6%). Leverage appears moderate through 2020–2024 (debt-to-equity around ~0.55–0.60), but 2025 reports total debt at $0 with a 0.0 debt-to-equity reading, which is a major year-over-year change versus 2024 ($2.13B debt) and introduces data consistency risk (or suggests an unusual capital structure shift) that tempers confidence in the trend.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is a standout: operating cash flow and free cash flow rise steadily from $99.4M (2020) to $381.1M (2025), and free cash flow consistently matches net income (conversion appears very clean in the provided data). The main watch-out is volatility in reported growth rates—especially the very large free-cash-flow growth figure in 2025—suggesting potential non-recurring drivers or lumpy period effects even though the multi-year trajectory remains strong.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	561.89M	449.61M	359.60M	286.51M	230.23M
Gross Profit	472.26M	444.61M	354.93M	283.05M	224.47M
EBITDA	518.96M	404.97M	352.05M	253.50M	199.95M
Net Income	253.01M	203.00M	190.71M	134.13M	95.72M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	6.86B	5.80B	4.77B	4.00B	3.30B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	60.18M	40.71M	39.81M	62.34M	59.76M
Total Debt	2.52B	2.13B	1.69B	1.44B	1.19B
Total Liabilities	2.66B	2.23B	1.78B	1.50B	1.25B
Stockholders Equity	4.20B	3.56B	2.98B	2.49B	2.04B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	381.08M	308.48M	254.57M	211.02M	167.39M
Operating Cash Flow	381.08M	308.48M	254.57M	211.02M	167.39M
Investing Cash Flow	-1.15B	-1.12B	-857.13M	-706.08M	-829.68M
Financing Cash Flow	798.35M	810.70M	580.01M	506.80M	689.06M

Essential Properties Realty Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 32.74
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For EPRT, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 32.74 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 31.25, above the 50-day MA of 30.63, and above the 200-day MA of 30.70, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.59 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 65.76 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 76.63 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for EPRT.

Essential Properties Realty Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
EPRT	80 Outperform	$6.80B	25.33	6.52%	3.88%	24.60%	8.05%
UE	73 Outperform	$2.74B	27.79	8.71%	3.99%	5.29%	-60.36%
WPC	72 Outperform	$15.64B	33.85	5.64%	5.51%	5.59%	-34.75%
Sector *	65 Neutral	$2.17B	12.19	3.79%	4.94%	3.15%	1.96%
BNL	63 Neutral	$3.69B	39.02	3.14%	6.72%	3.87%	-37.59%
AHH	61 Neutral	$493.74M	-79.46	4.09%	9.50%	-39.94%	―
GNL	59 Neutral	$2.10B	-7.94	-12.53%	10.29%	-28.94%	-28.24%

Essential Properties Realty Corporate Events

Essential Properties Realty Announces Major Forward Equity Offering

On February 17, 2026, Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. and its operating partnership entered into an underwriting agreement with a syndicate of banks for a forward equity offering of 12,499,999 shares of common stock, including the full exercise of the underwriters’ option, with the transaction closing on February 19, 2026. In parallel, the company executed forward sale agreements under which forward sellers borrowed and sold the shares on February 19, 2026, and Essential Properties expects to physically settle these contracts by February 17, 2028, contributing the net cash proceeds to its operating partnership for general corporate purposes and potential future investments, which may bolster its balance sheet and fund continued portfolio growth.

The most recent analyst rating on (EPRT) stock is a Buy with a $36.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Essential Properties Realty stock, see the EPRT Stock Forecast page.

Essential Properties Realty Raises 2026 AFFO Guidance Outlook

Essential Properties Realty Trust reported that for the fourth quarter of 2025, net income per share rose 13% to $0.34 and AFFO per share increased 9% to $0.49, supported by $295.8 million of new investments at a 7.7% cash cap rate and $48.1 million of dispositions at a 6.9% cap rate. For full-year 2025, the REIT invested $1.3 billion across 270 properties at a 7.9% cash cap rate, lifted net income per share 11% to $1.28 and AFFO per share 9% to $1.89, raised substantial equity and $400 million of 10-year debt, and entered 2026 with pro forma net debt to annualized adjusted EBITDAre of 3.8x and increased 2026 AFFO guidance to $1.99–$2.04 per share.

The company’s portfolio at year-end 2025 comprised 2,300 largely service-oriented assets with a 14.4-year weighted average lease term, 3.6x rent coverage and 99.7% occupancy, while top-10 tenants represented 16.5% of cash rent and 66.8% of cash rent was under master leases. Management highlighted that scaling of the asset base, driven largely by sale-leaseback transactions and repeat-relationship deals, underpinned AFFO growth and positions the REIT for continued expansion, reinforced by $239.2 million of additional investments completed after the quarter end and an upgraded 2026 outlook.

The most recent analyst rating on (EPRT) stock is a Buy with a $37.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Essential Properties Realty stock, see the EPRT Stock Forecast page.

Essential Properties Realty CFO Appointment Announced

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. announced on December 16, 2025, the appointment of Robert W. Salisbury, CFA as its new Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective January 1, 2026. Mr. Salisbury, who joined the company in 2023, has extensive experience in capital markets and investment functions, having previously held senior roles at Almanac Realty Investors, Citadel Investment Group, and other major firms. His promotion follows the resignation of Mark E. Patten, the outgoing CFO, effective December 31, 2025, who is leaving to pursue other professional opportunities. The appointment reflects a strategic choice for the company, given Mr. Salisbury’s demonstrated leadership skills and familiarity with operational strategies, which could position Essential Properties Realty for continued success in its sector.

The most recent analyst rating on (EPRT) stock is a Buy with a $33.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Essential Properties Realty stock, see the EPRT Stock Forecast page.

Essential Properties Realty Releases Investor Presentation

On December 9, 2025, Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. released an investor presentation detailing its financial and operational performance. The company highlighted its stable portfolio with a 99.8% lease rate and robust balance sheet, raising approximately $170 million in common equity in the fourth quarter of 2025. Essential Properties continues to execute its business plan with consistent growth, low leverage, and disciplined external growth strategies. The company’s investment strategy focuses on low-risk, high-growth opportunities in a large and underserved market, with a strong emphasis on maintaining a healthy net lease portfolio and excellent liquidity.

The most recent analyst rating on (EPRT) stock is a Buy with a $35.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Essential Properties Realty stock, see the EPRT Stock Forecast page.

Essential Properties Realty Declares Increased Quarterly Dividend

On December 5, 2025, Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc.’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.31 per share for the fourth quarter of 2025, representing an annualized dividend of $1.24 per share. This increase of approximately 3% over the prior quarter’s dividend reflects the company’s continued financial performance and commitment to returning value to shareholders. The dividend is payable on January 14, 2026, to stockholders of record as of December 31, 2025.

The most recent analyst rating on (EPRT) stock is a Buy with a $35.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Essential Properties Realty stock, see the EPRT Stock Forecast page.