Sterling Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) by 819.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,295 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,828 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Empire State Realty Trust were worth $44,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 65,276 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 1,722 shares during the last quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Empire State Realty Trust by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 55,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,349 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 2,668 shares in the last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC raised its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 2,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 3,141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas P. Durels sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.11, for a total value of $101,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $602,629.77. This trade represents a 14.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 30,122 shares of company stock valued at $242,761 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 14.60% of the company’s stock.

Empire State Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESRT opened at $7.10 on Friday. Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $6.56 and a one year high of $11.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.34 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a current ratio of 3.72.

Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $155.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $192.62 million. Empire State Realty Trust had a return on equity of 2.84% and a net margin of 6.45%. On average, analysts predict that Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ESRT shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Empire State Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Empire State Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Empire State Realty Trust Company Profile

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.