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

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 13,170,550 shares, an increase of 33.7% from the March 15th total of 9,849,551 shares. Currently, 9.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,624,488 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.1 days.

Empire State Realty Trust Trading Up 0.5%

Empire State Realty Trust stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5.49. 1,084,916 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,637,110. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Empire State Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $4.87 and a fifty-two week high of $8.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $939.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $5.58 and its 200-day moving average is $6.49.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 2.59%. The company had revenue of $199.22 million for the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.850-0.890 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 53.85%.

Institutional Trading of Empire State Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 242,952 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 49,560 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $182,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 449,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,929,000 after acquiring an additional 10,601 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 88,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 7,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,483,000. 67.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $6.80 to $6.30 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Evercore set a $7.00 price target on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $7.00 to $5.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Empire State Realty Trust currently has an average rating of “Sell” and a consensus price target of $6.35.

Empire State Realty Trust Company Profile

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.