** Essential Properties Realty Trust's EPRT.N shares off 1.1% premarket to $31.40 after overnight follow-on priced
** Princeton, New Jersey-based commercial net-lease real estate investment trust late Tues announced 8.2 mln shares for gross raise of $254.2 mln
** Deal size boosted from 8 mln shares; offering price equates to $31, a 2.4% discount to last sale
** Co entered into 18-mth forward sales agreements with jt bookrunners Wells Fargo and BofA Secs, whereby upon settlement of such agreements it plans to use net proceeds for general purposes, including potential investments
** A forward sale structure enables the REIT to lock in funding at current prices but delays having to issue the shares and diluting earnings until it needs to pay for acquisitions
** Co has ~187.7 mln shares outstanding for $6 bln market cap
** Through Tues close, stock up 1.5% YTD and up ~25% over the past 12 months
** 15 of 18 analysts rate EPRT "strong buy" or "buy", rest rate "hold" and their median PT is $35, LSEG data shows
(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))
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