Essential Properties Raises Quarterly Dividend to $0.32

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: EPRT) increased its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share from $0.31, a 3.23% raise. The new payout implies an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and a forward annual yield of 4.29% based on a share price of $29.85. The shares traded ex-dividend on June 30, 2026.

The increase extends Essential Properties' consecutive dividend growth streak to seven years. SmarterDividends assigns the payout a safety score of 73 out of 100, equivalent to a B grade. The company has no prior dividend cut year listed in the locked dividend record.

Business Context

Essential Properties is a real estate investment trust focused on single-tenant properties leased on a long-term net-lease basis to service-oriented and experience-based businesses. The company said its portfolio consisted of 2,417 freestanding net-lease properties as of March 31, 2026, with a weighted average lease term of 14.6 years and a weighted average rent coverage ratio of 3.5x. It also reported that the portfolio was 99.7% leased to tenants operating 662 different concepts across 48 states. Essential Properties dividend release

The dividend move follows a quarter in which Essential Properties reported adjusted funds from operations per share of $0.50, up 11% from the prior-year period, and said it closed $388.6 million of investments at a 7.7% weighted average cash cap rate. The company also raised its 2026 AFFO-per-share guidance and its 2026 investment-volume guidance in April, pointing to continued portfolio expansion as a backdrop for the payout increase. First-quarter 2026 results

Chief Executive Pete Mavoides said in the April results release that investment activity and capital raising had helped build momentum in the business, while noting that the macroeconomic backdrop remained dynamic. First-quarter 2026 results

What It Means for Income Investors

For income investors, the raise modestly increases recurring cash income while preserving the company's pattern of annual dividend growth. The new annualized payout of $1.28 per share compares with recent AFFO guidance that indicates continued coverage, though REIT dividends remain dependent on tenant performance, access to capital and property-investment economics. With a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, Essential Properties remains a mid-sized net-lease REIT whose dividend profile is tied to the durability of its leased portfolio and its ability to keep funding accretive acquisitions.