Zacks Research Upgrades Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) to Strong-Buy

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

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Piedmont Realty Trust from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Piedmont Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Piedmont Realty Trust from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s 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 Up 0.6%

NYSE PDM traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $9.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,402,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,535,376. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.98 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Piedmont Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $6.32 and a twelve month high of $10.13.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.03). Piedmont Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 5.39% and a negative net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $144.12 million for 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. Analysts anticipate that Piedmont Realty Trust will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Piedmont Realty Trust news, CFO Sherry Rexroad sold 4,446 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $474,480.17. This trade represents a 7.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Piedmont Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 16,682 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 474,144 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new position in Piedmont Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,788,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,975,000. Finally, Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $3,614,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.48% of the company’s stock.

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.