SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Strong Sell”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of SL Green Realty in a research report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of SL Green Realty from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of SL Green Realty in a report on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of SL Green Realty from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of SL Green Realty from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.15.

SL Green Realty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLG opened at $56.40 on Friday. SL Green Realty has a 1 year low of $34.77 and a 1 year high of $66.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 3.10 and a quick ratio of 3.03. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.56.

SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by $0.21. SL Green Realty had a negative return on equity of 4.43% and a negative net margin of 16.92%.The firm had revenue of $264.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that SL Green Realty will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SL Green Realty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.6175 dividend. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. SL Green Realty’s dividend payout ratio is -90.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SL Green Realty

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SLG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SL Green Realty in the second quarter worth approximately $706,881,000. State Street Corp increased its position in SL Green Realty by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,257,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $264,636,000 after purchasing an additional 41,873 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in SL Green Realty by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,041,226 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $139,501,000 after purchasing an additional 617,488 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of SL Green Realty by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,918,292 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $133,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,357 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SL Green Realty in the 4th quarter valued at $121,675,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.96% of the company’s stock.

About SL Green Realty

SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused primarily on the acquisition, management and development of commercial office properties in Manhattan. As one of New York City’s largest office landlords, the company’s portfolio includes Class A office buildings and mixed-use projects located in prime Midtown and Downtown submarkets. SL Green generates revenue through leasing office space to a diverse mix of tenants spanning financial services, technology, media and professional services firms.

Founded in 1980 by real estate investor Stephen L.