Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) Short Interest Update

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,820,000 shares, an increase of 8.8% from the March 15th total of 7,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.0 days. Approximately 5.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Empire State Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Investment Counsel Inc lifted its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 17,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 69,067 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 191,916 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,458 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,928 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares during the period. 67.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.33.

Empire State Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESRT traded down $0.15 on Wednesday, hitting $8.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,652,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 874,253. Empire State Realty Trust has a one year low of $5.43 and a one year high of $10.32. The company has a quick ratio of 7.04, a current ratio of 7.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $9.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.29.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.16%.

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.