Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) Shares Break Above 50 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM)’s share price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.34 and traded as high as $9.52. Piedmont Realty Trust shares last traded at $9.4870, with a volume of 1,563,727 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PDM. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Piedmont Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday. Freedom Broker raised Piedmont Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Piedmont Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Piedmont Realty Trust from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Piedmont Realty Trust from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.75.

Piedmont Realty Trust Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of -13.52 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $9.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.61.

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $151.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.80 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Piedmont Realty Trust news, CFO Sherry Rexroad sold 4,446 shares of Piedmont Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.81, for a total value of $39,169.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,480.17. The trade was a 7.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Piedmont Realty Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Piedmont Realty Trust by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 194,493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,731,000 after buying an additional 8,626 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Piedmont Realty Trust in the second quarter worth $168,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new position in Piedmont Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $94,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $204,000. 84.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.