Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM)’s stock price hit 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Piedmont Realty Trust Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of -13.95 and a beta of 1.41.

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. Research analysts forecast that Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Piedmont Realty Trust

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PDM. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust by 0.3% during the second 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 buying an additional 16,682 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust by 16.5% in 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 period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in Piedmont Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $17,788,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Piedmont Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth $3,614,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Piedmont Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $4,975,000. 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.