Empire State Realty Trust Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ESRT)

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 4,000 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 10,711% compared to the typical volume of 37 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Empire State Realty Trust

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 456.9% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 11,128,303 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $72,557,000 after purchasing an additional 9,129,959 shares during the period. Resolution Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Empire State Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,706,000. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC raised its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 264.1% during the 4th quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 5,524,484 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,020,000 after buying an additional 4,007,189 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 204.5% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,155,109 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $20,571,000 after buying an additional 2,118,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Empire State Realty Trust from $6.80 to $6.30 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Evercore set a $7.00 price objective on Empire State Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup cut their target price on Empire State Realty Trust from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Empire State Realty Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $6.77.

Empire State Realty Trust Trading Up 1.9%

ESRT opened at $5.20 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.68. The firm has a market cap of $889.59 million, a PE ratio of 19.98 and a beta of 1.36. Empire State Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $4.87 and a twelve month high of $8.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 2.59%. The company had revenue of $199.22 million during the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.850-0.890 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Empire State Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 53.85%.

About Empire State Realty Trust

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on the ownership, management and operation of office and retail properties. The company’s portfolio features the iconic Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan, alongside a diversified collection of commercial assets situated throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and select markets in Upstate New York. By offering premium office space and street-level retail, Empire State Realty Trust positions itself as a landlord of choice for corporate tenants, retailers and experiential brands seeking high-profile addresses.

Established through a spin-off of assets in early 2013, Empire State Realty Trust consolidated a mix of landmark and Class A properties, creating scale in one of the world’s most competitive real estate markets.