Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) Short Interest Update

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 9,074,723 shares, an increase of 25.8% from the February 12th total of 7,213,815 shares. Approximately 6.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,303,965 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 2,303,965 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Approximately 6.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESRT traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.18. 60,275 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,628,906. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $6.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.88. The company has a market cap of $880.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Empire State Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $5.14 and a 1 year high of $8.76.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $199.22 million for the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a return on equity of 2.59% and a net margin of 6.06%.Empire State Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.850-0.890 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.85%.

Institutional Trading of Empire State Realty Trust

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ESRT. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 73.1% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 1,561,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,961,000 after purchasing an additional 659,543 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new position in Empire State Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,983,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 131.2% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,118,081 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,564,000 after buying an additional 634,543 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 59.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,813,895 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,214,000 after buying an additional 1,424,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,169,216 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $17,549,000 after buying an additional 649,776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ESRT. Evercore set a $7.00 price target on Empire State Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Empire State Realty Trust from $6.80 to $6.30 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Empire State Realty Trust from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Empire State Realty Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Empire State Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $7.58.

About Empire State Realty Trust

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on the ownership, management and operation of office and retail properties. The company’s portfolio features the iconic Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan, alongside a diversified collection of commercial assets situated throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and select markets in Upstate New York. By offering premium office space and street-level retail, Empire State Realty Trust positions itself as a landlord of choice for corporate tenants, retailers and experiential brands seeking high-profile addresses.

Established through a spin-off of assets in early 2013, Empire State Realty Trust consolidated a mix of landmark and Class A properties, creating scale in one of the world’s most competitive real estate markets.