If You Invested $10,000 In Essential Properties Realty Trust Five Years Ago, Here's How Much Money You Would Have Today

One of the best things about investing in real estate investment trusts (REITs) is that with the right stock, an investor can gain some appreciation and procure a solid monthly or quarterly dividend for additional income.

But because not all REITs will deliver solid appreciation and dividend growth, it's important to look at a REIT's five-year history to help assess possible future returns. Take a look at one popular REIT over the past five years, how much it's appreciated over that time and what it's generating in dividends today compared with December 2018.

Essential Properties Realty Trust EPRT is a Princeton, New Jersey-based diversified REIT that owns and manages single-tenant properties with net leases for service-oriented and experience-based businesses. It has a portfolio of 1,793 properties across 48 states. Its properties are 99.8% leased, with a weighted average lease term (WALT) of 13.9 years.  Essential Properties was founded in 2016 and has a market cap of $4.08 billion. The 52-week range is $20.49 to $26.43. It recently closed at $26.03.

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If you purchased $10,000 worth of Essential Properties stock five years ago at $13.83, you would have received 723.07 shares.

On Dec. 4, Essential Properties announced an increase in its dividend from $0.28 to $0.285 per share, payable on Jan. 12 to shareholders of record on Dec. 29. The ex-dividend date is Dec. 28. This was the second dividend increase this year for Essential Properties. In June the dividend was increased from $0.275 to $0.28 per share.

Five years ago, the quarterly dividend paid was $0.21 per share. Since then, the dividend has been raised eight times to its present $0.285 per share, an increase of 35.7%. There have been no cuts nor suspensions of the dividend during that time.

The annual dividend of $1.14 per share now yields 4.38%. The forward annual payout ratio of 65.1% is well covered at present.

During that time, you would have received $4.93 per share in dividends, and the shares would have appreciated to $26.03. Your total return would be $12,387, or 123.86% and the total value of your original $10,000 investment would now equal $22,387.44.

If you had chosen instead to reinvest the dividends, you would now own 913.20 shares for a total return of 137.71%. Your original $10,000 investment would now be worth $23,773.43.

Essential Properties' most recent earnings announcement was on Oct. 25. Third-quarter funds from operations (FFO) of $0.42 per share missed the estimate of $0.43 per share but were up from $0.38 in the third quarter of 2022. Revenue of $91.66 million beat the estimate of $89.98 million and was 29.7% above third-quarter 2022 revenue of $70.66 million.

On Nov. 13, Essential Properties announced the retirement of board Chairman Paul T. Bossidy and the appointment of Scott A. Estes as the new chairman, effective Dec. 31.

Analysts have rated Essential Properties favorably in recent months. On Nov. 30, B. Riley Securities analyst John Massocca initiated coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust with a Buy rating and announced a price target of $27.50. Stifel and Truist Securities also have recent Buy ratings on Essential Properties Realty Trust, with price targets ranging from $27 to $29.

Essential Properties' five-year track record is excellent, and it continues to be a profitable investment.

Weekly REIT Report: REITs are one of the most misunderstood investment options, making it difficult for investors to spot incredible opportunities until it's too late. Benzinga's in-house real estate research team has been working hard to identify the greatest opportunities in today's market, which you can gain access to for free by signing up for the Weekly REIT Report.

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