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 released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. Wolfe Research currently has $10.00 price target 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 Trading Down 1.4 %

ESRT opened at $7.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $8.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.08. 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 has a 12 month low of $7.88 and a 12 month high of $11.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34 and a beta of 1.39.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $155.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $192.62 million. Empire State Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 2.84%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Empire State Realty Trust

In related news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.11, for a total transaction of $101,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $602,629.77. This represents a 14.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 30,122 shares of company stock worth $242,761 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Empire State Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,263 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 28,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 65,276 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 83,357 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Empire State Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.