Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,440,000 shares, a decline of 8.6% from the May 31st total of 5,950,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 931,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.33.

Empire State Realty Trust Stock Performance

ESRT stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.31. The stock had a trading volume of 252,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,037,763. Empire State Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $7.25 and a 52 week high of $10.32. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 1.40.

Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Empire State Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 46.67%.

Institutional Trading of Empire State Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 19.3% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 943,593 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Empire State Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $8,571,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 2,467,453 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,910,000 after acquiring an additional 663,159 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 4,430.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 334,167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,238,000 after acquiring an additional 326,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust during the first quarter valued at $2,896,000. Institutional investors own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

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.