Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) Stock Price Passes Below 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $5.82 and traded as low as $5.43. Empire State Realty Trust shares last traded at $5.5050, with a volume of 1,954,508 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ESRT shares. Evercore set a $6.00 target price on shares of Empire State Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Citigroup dropped 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, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Empire State Realty Trust from $6.30 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Empire State Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $5.92.

Empire State Realty Trust Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $981.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Empire State Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Empire State Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Empire State Realty Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Empire State Realty Trust by 10.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 11,934,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $91,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153,446 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 456.9% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 11,128,303 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $72,557,000 after purchasing an additional 9,129,959 shares in the last quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 64.0% during the first quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 9,058,860 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534,376 shares in the last quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,706,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Empire State Realty Trust by 55.5% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,905,653 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750,544 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

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.