Short Interest in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) Decreases By 14.2%

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,060,000 shares, a drop of 14.2% from the December 15th total of 4,730,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ESRT. StockNews.com raised shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESRT traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.65. 956,733 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 882,096. Empire State Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $8.78 and a 52 week high of $11.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a current ratio of 3.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.58. The company has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.72 and a beta of 1.41.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.16). Empire State Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $199.60 million for the quarter. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total value of $101,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,750.70. This trade represents a 10.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 14.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Empire State Realty Trust

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 81.6% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 3,139.1% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 4,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 4,332 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 35.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,412 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Empire State Realty Trust during the third quarter worth $115,000. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.