Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Empire State Realty Trust from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th.

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

NYSE:ESRT opened at $9.67 on Thursday. Empire State Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $8.78 and a 12-month high of $11.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.80 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $10.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.58. The company has a current ratio of 3.72, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $199.60 million for the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 2.73%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Empire State Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 51.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Empire State Realty Trust news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total transaction of $101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,807 shares in the company, valued at $876,750.70. This represents a 10.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 13.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Empire State Realty Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vision Capital Corp lifted its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 79.9% during the third quarter. Vision Capital Corp now owns 2,802,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,057,000 after buying an additional 1,245,211 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 392.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,099,288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,180,000 after acquiring an additional 875,836 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,926,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 133.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 304,539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,374,000 after purchasing an additional 173,965 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 4.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,758,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,648,000 after purchasing an additional 171,056 shares during the period. 67.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Empire State Realty Trust Company Profile

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: ESRT) is a NYC-focused REIT that owns and operates a portfolio of modernized, amenitized, and well-located office, retail, and multifamily assets. The company is the recognized leader in energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. ESRT’s flagship Empire State Building – the “World’s Most Famous Building” – includes its Observatory, Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travelers’ Choice Awards: Best of the Best the #1 attraction in the US for two consecutive years.