Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Empire State Realty Trust has been upgraded from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in outlook for the stock.
• Wells Fargo has lowered its price target for Empire State Realty Trust from $11.00 to $8.30, while the stock currently has a consensus price target of $10.43.
• The company's shares rose by 4.9% with a current market capitalization of $1.30 billion, reflecting its significant stake in the NYC real estate market.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Empire State Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.43.

Empire State Realty Trust Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:ESRT traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.52. The stock had a trading volume of 163,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,558,533. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 4.03 and a current ratio of 4.03. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 31.31 and a beta of 1.70. Empire State Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $6.56 and a 12-month high of $11.62. The company's 50 day moving average is $7.73 and its 200-day moving average is $7.86.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $153.54 million during the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a net margin of 5.67% and a return on equity of 2.45%. Empire State Realty Trust has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.830-0.860 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Empire State Realty Trust 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 Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Empire State Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESRT. Resolution Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,706,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $21,703,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 6,189.6% during the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 2,805,998 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $21,943,000 after purchasing an additional 2,761,385 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 42.4% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,235,041 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $95,306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,750,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $24,284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798,850 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.