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

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

ESRT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $11.00 to $8.30 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.43.

Empire State Realty Trust Trading Down 2.0%

ESRT opened at $7.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 3.72 and a quick ratio of 3.72. The company has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.09. Empire State Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $6.56 and a fifty-two week high of $11.62.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter. The business 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.67%.

Insider Activity at Empire State Realty Trust

In related news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 5,779 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $46,405.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $449,904.84. The trade was a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,122 shares of company stock worth $242,761. 14.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,615,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 9.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,134,086 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,869,000 after buying an additional 98,148 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $474,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 137.7% in 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 buying an additional 1,798,850 shares during the period. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $434,000. 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.