StockNews.com Upgrades Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust stock opened at $7.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $7.08 and a 200 day moving average of $6.87. The company has a market capitalization of $895.72 million, a P/E ratio of -11.85 and a beta of 1.21. Piedmont Office Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $4.91 and a fifty-two week high of $8.05.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.61). The company had revenue of $144.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $143.41 million. Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 4.29% and a negative net margin of 12.90%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Piedmont Office Realty Trust will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.92%. Piedmont Office Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently -81.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Piedmont Office Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the first quarter worth $3,488,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 72.1% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 36,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 15,398 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at about $81,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 5.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 100,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 5,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 24.7% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 32,640 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 6,467 shares during the last quarter. 84.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Company Profile

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.