Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) Raised to Outperform at Wolfe Research

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wolfe Research from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $10.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wolfe Research’s target price points to a potential upside of 24.46% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Empire State Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Empire State Realty Trust Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE ESRT opened at $8.04 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.72, a current ratio of 3.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.70 and a beta of 1.39. Empire State Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $7.88 and a 52-week high of $11.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.09.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 5,779 shares of Empire State Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total transaction of $46,405.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 30,122 shares of company stock worth $242,761 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Empire State Realty Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 94,582 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 6.5% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 143.8% in the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 262,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,711,000 after buying an additional 154,920 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 95.4% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 2.5% during 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 in the last quarter. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.