Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ESRT. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded Empire State Realty Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Empire State Realty Trust from $11.00 to $8.30 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.43.

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESRT stock opened at $7.60 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14 and a beta of 1.60. 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 has a 1 year low of $6.56 and a 1 year high of $11.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $7.47 and its 200-day moving average is $9.08.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $154.54 million during the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 2.84%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Empire State Realty Trust

In other Empire State Realty Trust news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 5,779 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total value of $46,405.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $449,904.84. This represents a 9.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 30,122 shares of company stock valued at $242,761 in the last quarter. Insiders own 14.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Empire State Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Empire State Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $21,703,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 6,189.6% in the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 2,805,998 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $21,943,000 after acquiring an additional 2,761,385 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,235,041 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,306,000 after acquiring an additional 2,750,045 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 137.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,105,313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 88.7% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,786,559 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,791,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309,913 shares during the period. 67.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.