Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $11.49 and last traded at $11.48, with a volume of 561333 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ESRT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Empire State Realty Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Empire State Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $10.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.10 and a beta of 1.40.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $189.54 million during the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a return on equity of 2.57% and a net margin of 5.89%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESRT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,287,935 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $195,387,000 after purchasing an additional 175,718 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,821,372 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,409,000 after buying an additional 943,593 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 848,486 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,959,000 after acquiring an additional 37,370 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust during the second quarter worth $7,926,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 5.3% in the second quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 689,651 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,469,000 after acquiring an additional 34,720 shares during the period. 67.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.