Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Position in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its position in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 235,788 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,139 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.14% of Empire State Realty Trust worth $1,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Empire State Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $103,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Empire State Realty Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 5,779 shares of Empire State Realty Trust 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 14.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Empire State Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Empire State Realty Trust from $11.00 to $8.30 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup reissued 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 given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.43.

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESRT opened at $8.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 3.83 and a current ratio of 3.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $7.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.69. Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.56 and a twelve month high of $11.62.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 3.00%. The firm had revenue of $154.54 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.88 EPS 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, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.035 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Empire State Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 46.67%.

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.