Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $10.22 and last traded at $10.0640, with a volume of 156,567 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PDM has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Piedmont Realty Trust from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Piedmont Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Piedmont Realty Trust from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Piedmont Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Freedom Broker upgraded Piedmont Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.75.

Piedmont Realty Trust Stock Up 1.3%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.64. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.06 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.11). Piedmont Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 5.98% and a negative net margin of 15.18%. The business had revenue of $151.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.80 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Piedmont Realty Trust

In other Piedmont Realty Trust news, CFO Sherry Rexroad sold 4,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total value of $39,169.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 53,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,480.17. This trade represents a 7.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Piedmont Realty Trust

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PDM. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in Piedmont Realty Trust by 161.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 133,319 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,187,000 after buying an additional 82,314 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Piedmont Realty Trust by 34.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 2,436 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust by 7.3% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,078,622 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,600,000 after buying an additional 72,942 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Piedmont Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $406,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust by 99.5% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 94,593 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $842,000 after buying an additional 47,167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.48% of the company’s stock.

About Piedmont Realty Trust

Piedmont Realty Trust, formally known as Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: PDM), is a self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages office properties in the United States. The company primarily focuses on high-quality office buildings serving corporate tenants and other organizations.

Piedmont’s portfolio has historically been concentrated in major office markets across the Sun Belt and eastern United States, including Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Washington, DC, and other metropolitan areas.