SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

SL Green Realty Corporation (NYSE:SLG) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $39.24 and last traded at $38.5560, with a volume of 197816 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SLG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on SL Green Realty from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $43.00 price target on shares of SL Green Realty in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $44.00 price objective on shares of SL Green Realty in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of SL Green Realty from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of SL Green Realty from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.30.

SL Green Realty Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of -25.15 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.28.

SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $159.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $162.73 million. SL Green Realty had a negative net margin of 9.66% and a negative return on equity of 2.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SL Green Realty Corporation will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SL Green Realty Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. SL Green Realty’s payout ratio is presently -191.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Holliday sold 22,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total value of $986,701.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,698 shares in the company, valued at $430,591.20. This trade represents a 69.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew S. Levine sold 1,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.27, for a total value of $67,588.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,927.15. This represents a 17.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 5.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SL Green Realty

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in SL Green Realty during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of SL Green Realty during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of SL Green Realty in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SL Green Realty by 67.8% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 626 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of SL Green Realty in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.96% of the company’s stock.

SL Green Realty Company Profile

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.