Orion Office REIT (NYSE:ONL – Get Free Report) and Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
80.0% of Orion Office REIT shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.5% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Orion Office REIT shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Orion Office REIT and Piedmont Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Orion Office REIT | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Piedmont Realty Trust | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Orion Office REIT and Piedmont Realty Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Orion Office REIT | $147.65 million | 1.10 | -$139.31 million | ($2.56) | -1.12 |
| Piedmont Realty Trust | $564.99 million | 1.98 | -$83.62 million | ($0.70) | -12.77 |
Piedmont Realty Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Orion Office REIT. Piedmont Realty Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Orion Office REIT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
Orion Office REIT has a beta of 1.57, meaning that its share price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Piedmont Realty Trust has a beta of 1.38, meaning that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Orion Office REIT and Piedmont Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Orion Office REIT | -98.36% | -21.88% | -11.79% |
| Piedmont Realty Trust | -15.28% | -5.70% | -2.15% |
Summary
Piedmont Realty Trust beats Orion Office REIT on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Orion Office REIT
Orion Office REIT specializes in the ownership, acquisition and management of a diversified portfolio of mission-critical and corporate headquarters office buildings in high-quality suburban markets across the U.S. The portfolio is leased primarily on a single-tenant net lease basis to creditworthy tenants. The company's team of experienced industry leaders employs a proven, cycle-tested investment evaluation framework which serves as the lens through which capital allocation decisions are made for the current portfolio and future acquisitions.
About Piedmont Realty Trust
Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (also referred to herein as "Piedmont" or the "Company") (NYSE: PDM) is an owner, manager, developer, redeveloper and operator of high-quality, Class A office properties located primarily in major U.S. Sunbelt markets. The Company is a fully-integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") with local management offices in each of its markets and is investment-grade rated by Standard & Poor's and Moody's. The Company was designated an Energy Star Partner of the Year for 2021, 2022 and 2023, and it was the only office REIT headquartered in the Southeast to receive those designations. Approximately 85% of the Company's square footage is Energy Star certified and nearly 70% is LEED certified. Piedmont is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.
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