Short Interest in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) Expands By 25.8%

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 9,074,723 shares, a growth of 25.8% from the February 12th total of 7,213,815 shares. Currently, 6.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,303,965 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 2,303,965 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 6.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Empire State Realty Trust

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 25.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 49,560 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in Empire State Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $182,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 449,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,929,000 after purchasing an additional 10,601 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 88,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 7,315 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,483,000. Institutional investors own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ESRT shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $6.80 to $6.30 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $7.58.

Empire State Realty Trust Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:ESRT traded down $0.03 during trading on Monday, hitting $5.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,224,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,885,713. The stock has a market cap of $877.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.88. Empire State Realty Trust has a one year low of $5.14 and a one year high of $8.76.

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 for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $199.22 million for the quarter. Empire State Realty Trust had a return on equity of 2.59% and a net margin of 6.06%.Empire State Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.850-0.890 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Empire State Realty Trust will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.035 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Empire State Realty Trust’s payout ratio 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.