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

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wolfe Research from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $10.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 25.25% from the company’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th.

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

ESRT opened at $7.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.12. Empire State Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $7.88 and a twelve month high of $11.62. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.51 and a beta of 1.39.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.19. The business 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 analysts expect that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Empire State Realty Trust

In other Empire State Realty Trust news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 12,500 shares of Empire State Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.11, for a total transaction of $101,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $602,629.77. The trade was a 14.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 13.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Empire State Realty Trust

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 2.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 461,421 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 42.4% in 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,758,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,648,000 after purchasing an additional 171,056 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,720,315 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,394,000 after purchasing an additional 90,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 13,045 shares during the period. 67.10% of the stock is 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.