Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) Upgraded at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $10.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Empire State Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th.

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

ESRT stock opened at $7.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50 and a beta of 1.39. Empire State Realty Trust has a 12 month low of $7.88 and a 12 month high of $11.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.10. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $155.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $192.62 million. Empire State Realty Trust had a return on equity of 2.84% and a net margin of 6.45%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 5,779 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $46,405.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $449,904.84. This trade represents a 9.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,122 shares of company stock valued at $242,761. Corporate insiders own 13.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Empire State Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESRT. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Empire State Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 819.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,295 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 3,828 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 3,139.1% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 4,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 4,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Empire State Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. 67.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.