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

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT)’s share 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESRT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Empire State Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research raised Empire State Realty Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday.

Empire State Realty Trust Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a current ratio of 3.72.

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

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Empire State Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 12,500 shares of Empire State Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.11, for a total transaction of $101,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,307 shares in the company, valued at $602,629.77. The trade was a 14.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 13.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Empire State Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESRT. Vestcor Inc grew its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 308.6% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 125,231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 94,582 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 6.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,615,985 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,905,000 after purchasing an additional 98,850 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 143.8% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 262,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,711,000 after buying an additional 154,920 shares during the last quarter. Vision Capital Corp raised its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 79.9% during the third quarter. Vision Capital Corp now owns 2,802,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,057,000 after buying an additional 1,245,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 95.4% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 228,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,533,000 after buying an additional 111,589 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

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.