Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 9,375,754 shares, an increase of 88.4% from the September 15th total of 4,977,440 shares. Approximately 7.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,739,469 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Piedmont Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Piedmont Realty Trust from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Piedmont Realty Trust from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.67.

Piedmont Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of PDM traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,401,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,160,686. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.98 and a beta of 1.39. Piedmont Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $6.32 and a 52-week high of $10.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Piedmont Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 5.39%. The company had revenue of $144.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $133.68 million. Piedmont Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.550 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Piedmont Realty Trust will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Piedmont Realty Trust

In other news, CFO Sherry Rexroad sold 4,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total transaction of $39,169.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 53,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,480.17. The trade was a 7.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.

Institutional Trading of Piedmont Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Piedmont Realty Trust during the first quarter worth $3,614,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Piedmont Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,357,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Piedmont Realty Trust by 63,822.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 474,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,120,000 after purchasing an additional 474,200 shares during the period. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust during the second quarter worth about $17,788,000. 84.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Piedmont Realty Trust Company Profile

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.