SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG) Rating Increased to Buy at Citigroup

Key Points

• SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG) has been upgraded from a "neutral" to a "buy" rating by Citigroup, with a new price target of $70.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.48% from its current price.
• The company posted positive earnings results for its last quarter, reporting an EPS of $1.63, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.37.
• SL Green Realty's stock currently holds an average rating of "Hold" from equity analysts, with five ratings as "Buy" and ten as "Hold," reflecting mixed investor sentiment.

Citigroup upgraded shares of SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $70.00 target price on the real estate investment trust's stock, up from their previous target price of $65.00.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on SLG. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on SL Green Realty from $69.00 to $58.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of SL Green Realty in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on SL Green Realty from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on SL Green Realty from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded SL Green Realty from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $71.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $67.79.

SL Green Realty Stock Down 4.2%

NYSE:SLG traded down $2.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $62.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,576,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 931,448. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -117.38 and a beta of 1.74. SL Green Realty has a 12 month low of $45.15 and a 12 month high of $82.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $58.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.03.

SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $147.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.24 million. SL Green Realty had a negative return on equity of 1.19% and a negative net margin of 2.21%.SL Green Realty's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. SL Green Realty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.650-5.950 EPS. Equities analysts predict that SL Green Realty will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SL Green Realty Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a aug 25 dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a yield of 543.0%. SL Green Realty's dividend payout ratio is presently -572.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SL Green Realty news, Director Carol N. Brown sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.61, for a total value of $151,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,791.57. This represents a 72.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 5.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SL Green Realty

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLG. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in SL Green Realty by 67.8% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 626 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of SL Green Realty by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 988 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in SL Green Realty during the 4th quarter valued at $75,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in SL Green Realty during the 4th quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in SL Green Realty by 2,432.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,697 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the period. 89.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SL Green Realty Company Profile

3SL Green Realty Corp., Manhattan's largest office landlord, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust, or REIT, that is focused primarily on acquiring, managing and maximizing value of Manhattan commercial properties. As of June 30, 2022, SL Green held interests in 64 buildings totaling 34.4 million square feet.