Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) Hits New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $8.00 to $7.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Empire State Realty Trust traded as low as $6.02 and last traded at $6.1350, with a volume of 235842 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.22.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $8.30 to $6.80 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Evercore set a $7.00 target price on Empire State Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Empire State Realty Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.70.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Empire State Realty Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 73.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 659,543 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. bought a new position in Empire State Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,983,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 131.2% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,118,081 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,564,000 after purchasing an additional 634,543 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 59.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,424,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake 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 worth $17,549,000 after purchasing an additional 649,776 shares in the last quarter. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Empire State Realty Trust Trading Down 1.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 4.33 and a current ratio of 4.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $6.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.09. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.87 and a beta of 1.36.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.85%.

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.