Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $7.99, but opened at $8.29. Empire State Realty Trust shares last traded at $8.04, with a volume of 82,391 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ESRT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded 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.

Empire State Realty Trust Trading Up 0.6 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.70 and a beta of 1.39. 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 (NYSE:ESRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.19. Empire State Realty Trust had a return on equity of 2.84% and a net margin of 6.45%. The firm had revenue of $155.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $192.62 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Empire State Realty Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.11, for a total transaction of $101,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 13.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Empire State Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESRT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,844,999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $204,800,000 after purchasing an additional 461,421 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,235,041 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,306,000 after acquiring an additional 2,750,045 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 4.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,758,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,648,000 after acquiring an additional 171,056 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,720,315 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,394,000 after purchasing an additional 90,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,419,970 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,302,000 after purchasing an additional 13,045 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

Empire State Realty Trust Company Profile

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.