Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) by 10.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,951 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.07% of Empire State Realty Trust worth $930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ESRT. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,263 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 83,357 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Empire State Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 6.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 42,372 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 2,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 31,627 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 3,236 shares during the last quarter. 67.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, April 11th. 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 research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.43.

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

Empire State Realty Trust stock opened at $7.62 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 3.83 and a current ratio of 3.83. Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $6.56 and a one year high of $11.62.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $154.54 million during the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 3.00%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.035 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.