MQS Management LLC Acquires Shares of 16,977 Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT)

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 16,977 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $172,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 8.5% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 23,747 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 1,868 shares in the last quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 3.9% in the first quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 54,897 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,297 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 1.1% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 271,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,746,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Empire State Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

NYSE:ESRT traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $10.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,592,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,121. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 3.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a PEG ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 1.40. Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.25 and a twelve month high of $11.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.65.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $189.54 million for the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 2.85%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Empire State Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 46.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.25.

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.