Short Interest in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) Declines By 5.3%

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,020,000 shares, a drop of 5.3% from the July 31st total of 5,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Empire State Realty Trust Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of ESRT opened at $10.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 1.39. Empire State Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $7.25 and a 1 year high of $11.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 3.24.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $189.54 million for the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a net margin of 5.89% and a return on equity of 2.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Empire State Realty Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESRT. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Empire State Realty Trust by 87.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 76,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 35,700 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 4,127 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 474.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 81,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 67,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,285,543 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,837,000 after buying an additional 245,458 shares during the period. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESRT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Empire State Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

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.