Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on PDM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Piedmont Realty Trust from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Piedmont Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Piedmont Realty Trust from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.67.

Piedmont Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Piedmont Realty Trust stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $9.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,402,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,535,376. Piedmont Realty Trust has a one year low of $6.32 and a one year high of $10.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of -13.98 and a beta of 1.39.

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $144.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $133.68 million. Piedmont Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 5.39%. Piedmont Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.550 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Piedmont Realty Trust will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Piedmont Realty Trust

In related news, CFO Sherry Rexroad sold 4,446 shares of Piedmont Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total transaction of $39,169.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 53,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,480.17. This trade represents a 7.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Piedmont Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PDM. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,909,232 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,919,000 after acquiring an additional 16,682 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,350,794 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,660,000 after acquiring an additional 474,144 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust during the second quarter worth about $17,788,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust during the first quarter worth about $3,614,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust during the second quarter worth about $4,975,000. 84.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Piedmont Realty Trust

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: PDM) is a self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages commercial office properties. The company focuses primarily on high-quality office buildings in major U.S. markets.

Piedmont’s portfolio has historically been concentrated in the Sun Belt, with properties in markets such as Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando and Washington, DC Its properties serve businesses across a range of industries and typically include office space, parking and related tenant amenities.

The company generates revenue mainly by leasing office space to corporate and institutional tenants.