Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,860,000 shares, a growth of 24.1% from the April 30th total of 3,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Empire State Realty Trust news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 5,779 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total value of $46,405.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $449,904.84. The trade was a 9.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 30,122 shares of company stock valued at $242,761 over the last 90 days. 14.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Empire State Realty Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,844,999 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $204,800,000 after buying an additional 461,421 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 5.2% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,711,834 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $75,915,000 after buying an additional 476,793 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,720,315 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,394,000 after buying an additional 90,758 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 worth $35,302,000 after buying an additional 13,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 137.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,105,313 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $24,284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798,850 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.10% of the company's stock.

Empire State Realty Trust Stock Performance

ESRT traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $8.08. 2,143,284 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,256,721. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $7.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.86. Empire State Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $6.56 and a 1-year high of $11.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86 and a beta of 1.60. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $154.54 million during the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a return on equity of 2.84% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Empire State Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ESRT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Empire State Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Empire State Realty Trust from $11.00 to $8.30 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Empire State Realty Trust from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.43.

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.