Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) hit a new 52-week high 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Piedmont Realty Trust Price Performance

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

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.18% and a negative return on equity of 5.98%. The firm had revenue of $151.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.80 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Piedmont Realty Trust

In other news, CFO Sherry Rexroad sold 4,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were 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 $474,480.17. This 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 available 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 Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust by 99.5% in the 3rd 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 period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 194,493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,731,000 after buying an additional 8,626 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $168,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 2,044 shares during the period. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Piedmont Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.48% of the company’s stock.

Piedmont Realty Trust Company Profile

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.