StockNews.com Upgrades Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESRT opened at $8.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.79 and a beta of 1.40. Empire State Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $8.60 and a 1 year high of $11.62. The company has a current ratio of 3.72, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.37.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $155.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $192.62 million. Empire State Realty Trust had a return on equity of 2.84% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 3,193 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.90, for a total value of $34,803.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 96,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,055,196.30. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 13.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vestcor Inc grew its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 308.6% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 125,231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 94,582 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 6.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,615,985 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,905,000 after buying an additional 98,850 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 143.8% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 262,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,711,000 after buying an additional 154,920 shares during the last quarter. Vision Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 79.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,245,211 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 95.4% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 228,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,533,000 after acquiring an additional 111,589 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

About Empire State Realty Trust

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.