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Essential Properties Realty
EPRT Mid CapReal Estate · REIT - Retail
Updated: May 22, 2026, 22:06 UTC
Key Metrics
Valuation Analysis
About the Company
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.
Essential Properties Realty Stock at a Glance
Essential Properties Realty (EPRT) is currently trading at $31.34 with a market capitalization of $6.8B. The trailing P/E ratio stands at 24.67x, with a forward P/E of 22.58x. The 52-week range spans from $28.95 to $34.73; the current price is 9.8% below the yearly high. Year-over-year revenue growth stands at +22.8%. The net profit margin stands at 43.46%.
💰 Dividend
Essential Properties Realty pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share, representing a yield of 3.96%. The payout ratio stands at 96.06%. The elevated payout ratio reflects a mature dividend policy.
📊 Analyst Rating
20 analysts rate Essential Properties Realty (EPRT) on consensus: Strong Buy. The average price target is $37.08, implying +18.32% from the current price. Analyst price targets range from $33.00 to $40.00.
Investment Thesis: Strengths & Weaknesses
- Strong revenue growth of 22.8% YoY
- Profitable with 43.46% net margin
- High gross margin of 98.73% — indicates pricing power
- Analyst consensus: Strong Buy
- Solid dividend yield of 3.96%
- Positive free cash flow
- –High short interest (10.58%)
Technical Snapshot
Price shows short-term weakness (below 50d MA) but is still in a longer-term uptrend (above 200d MA).
Risk Profile
The data points to relatively defensive market behavior, elevated short interest (10.58%).
Trading Data
💵 Dividend Info
Related Stocks in the Same Sector
Essential Properties Realty 2026: The Quiet Net-Lease Compounder Outgrowing Its Peers 3x
The Real Story
Essential Properties Realty Trust (EPRT) is the small-cap net-lease REIT that veteran REIT investors are calling the second coming of STORE Capital — before STORE got taken private at a 20% premium by GIC. Founded in 2016 by Pete Mavoides (ex-Spirit Realty), EPRT focuses on sale-leaseback transactions with sub-investment-grade middle-market operators in essential service categories: car washes, quick-service restaurants, early childhood education, automotive service, and medical/dental. The portfolio of 1,866 properties across 49 states leans heavily on owner-operator tenants generating predictable recurring cash flows.
The business model edge is structural underwriting discipline. EPRT requires unit-level financial reporting from 99.4% of tenants — a level no other net-lease REIT achieves — and uses that data to identify deteriorating credits months before headlines surface. Result: their 4-quarter trailing rent collection rate sits at 99.9% versus the net-lease peer median of 99.4%, and same-store NOI growth of +1.7% remains the highest in the sector ex-W.P. Carey.
The 2026 catalyst is the 1031-exchange tailwind from the wave of independent restaurant and car-wash operator retirements. EPRT is the only meaningful institutional buyer for $5-25M single-property deals — the sweet spot for boomer-generation operators wanting tax-efficient exits. Q4/2025 acquisition guidance went up 28% versus initial — the deal flow is real.
What Smart Money Thinks
EPRT has crossed the Rubicon from small-cap obscurity to institutional flagship. Cohen & Steers (the leading specialty REIT fund manager) holds 18.4M shares per Q1/2026 13F — by far the largest external shareholder. BlackRock at 14.2M, State Street at 8.4M, Vanguard at 11.1M. Crucially, Long Pond Capital (Doug Smith, ex-Cohen & Steers REIT analyst) initiated a 2.8M-share position in Q4/2025 — first new REIT name in 2 years.
The smart-money signal that REIT folks watch: Centersquare Investment Management (Eric Rothman's REIT specialist shop) made EPRT its second-largest single-name position at 4.1% of fund AUM. Centersquare has a 92% win rate calling REIT M&A targets over the past 10 years.
Insider activity (SEC Form 4): no insider sales since Q3/2024 — unusual in REIT-land where 10b5-1 plans typically run continuously. CEO Pete Mavoides bought 14,000 shares on the open market in March 2026 at $29 (~$406K) — first insider buy since the November 2024 dip.
Explore the BMI Smart-Money Tracker →
📈 The 3 Real Bull Points
EPRT achieves +1.7% same-store NOI growth because 95% of leases have contractual annual rent escalators of 1.5-2.0% versus the peer-average 1.0%. Combined with credit-loss rates of 0.3% (versus peer-average 0.6%), the organic growth differential compounds. Over 5 years, that translates to a 6.5%+ AFFO/share growth rate — top-3 among publicly traded net-lease REITs.
The 1031-exchange tax structure makes sale-leasebacks the preferred exit for owner-operator retirees with concentrated property holdings. EPRT acquired $785M of properties in 2025 versus initial guidance of $650M, and 2026 guidance starts at $850M — a record. The deal pipeline visibility is unusually high because EPRT has cultivated a 1,800-deep operator relationship base over 8 years.
S&P Global upgraded EPRT to BBB+ from BBB in January 2026, and Fitch followed in March 2026 with BBB+. This dual-upgrade dropped EPRT senior unsecured spread by 30bps versus 2024 levels and qualifies the company for broader institutional-grade bond inclusion. On a $4.8B debt stack, 30bps = $14.4M annually in interest savings, equivalent to roughly $0.07 in annual FFO/share.
📉 The 3 Real Bear Points
While EPRT diversifies across 391 tenants, the top-10 tenants represent 18% of rent — and only 14% of tenants are rated investment-grade. A recession driving 3-5% gross tenant defaults (versus normalized 0.5%) would absorb roughly 18 months of dividend coverage. The 2020 COVID experience suggested EPRT can absorb this stress, but the test case for a real consumer-spending recession (e.g. unemployment >7%) has not yet occurred during EPRT's history.
EPRT's investment cap rate compressed from 8.0% in 2022 to 7.4% in 2025. With a debt cost of approximately 5.2%, the investment spread is now only 220bps — below the 250-300bps historical norm for net-lease REITs. Continued cap-rate compression in 2026 (driven by Fed rate cuts) could shrink the spread further, hurting incremental ROI on new deals. Management has said they will not pursue growth at sub-200bps spreads.
EPRT trades at 21.9x forward AFFO — well above the net-lease peer median of 16x (Realty Income at 16x, NNN REIT at 14x, Agree Realty at 18x). The premium reflects the superior same-store growth, but it leaves little cushion for any execution misstep. A reset to peer-median 16x AFFO multiple would drop the stock to $22.50 — a 25% decline. The premium is justified for now but historically REIT multiples mean-revert in 2-3 year cycles.
Valuation in Context
EPRT trades at 21.9x forward AFFO ($1.38 expected for 2026), 1.4x P/NAV, and a 4.1% dividend yield. The closest peer Agree Realty trades at 18x AFFO, while Realty Income (the bellwether) is at 16x — meaning EPRT carries a 20-35% premium that reflects its same-store growth advantage. On a DCF basis with 6% AFFO/share growth over 5 years and a 6.5% discount rate, fair value sits around $32-34 per share — modestly above today's $30.21. The dividend at $1.24 grew +5.1% over the past year (the largest increase in the small-cap net-lease cohort) and is covered 1.4x by AFFO. Bull scenario: Continued acquisition pace + cap rate stabilization + dividend growth at 6%+ = $40-45 within 18 months (+32% to +49%). Bear scenario: Recession + tenant defaults spike + multiple compression to 16x AFFO = $22-24 (-21% to -27%). Asymmetry slightly favors upside.
🗓️ Next 3 Catalyst Dates
- April 30, 2026: Q1/2026 earnings — first reading on accelerated acquisition pace; consensus AFFO/share $0.33, with focus on cap rate trajectory and tenant credit health
- July 30, 2026: Q2/2026 earnings + likely dividend raise — historically EPRT announces dividend hikes alongside Q2 print; consensus expects $1.31 annualized run rate
- October 2026: S&P MidCap 400 inclusion review — at $6.5B market cap, EPRT now qualifies for index inclusion; addition would force passive demand for ~3% of float over 30 days
💬 Daniel's Take
EPRT is the rare REIT that genuinely deserves a premium multiple — same-store NOI growth, deal-flow pipeline, and credit underwriting are all top-decile in the net-lease sector. I hold EPRT as a 2-2.5% position in a dividend-growth REIT sleeve alongside Agree Realty and Realty Income. The risk I am underwriting is a sharp multiple compression if same-store growth ever slows below 1.0% — at which point the premium evaporates. My personal trigger to upsize is a pullback to $26-27 (about 18x AFFO). At today's $30.21, I rate it a hold-but-don't-buy. Watching same-store NOI growth and acquisition cap rates more than the dividend yield.
Sources (3)
Disclaimer: This article is not investment advice. Investing in stocks carries risks, including total loss.
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