Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) Stock Short Interest Report for September

Key Points

• Short interest surged 88.4% to 9.38 million shares as of September 30, representing about 7.6% of Piedmont Realty Trust’s outstanding shares and 5.4 days of average trading volume.
• Analysts maintained a generally neutral view, with a consensus “Hold” rating and average price target of $10.67; JPMorgan and Robert W. Baird recently raised their targets to $11 and $10, respectively.
• PDM opened at $8.79, below its 50-day moving average, after reporting a quarterly EPS loss of $0.09 that missed estimates, while institutional investors continued to own a substantial 84.48% stake.

Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of 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. Based on an average daily volume of 1,739,469 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.4 days. Approximately 7.6% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PDM. Weiss Ratings lowered Piedmont Realty Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.67.

Piedmont Realty Trust Trading Down 3.5%

PDM opened at $8.79 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $9.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of -13.52 and a beta of 1.39. Piedmont Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $6.32 and a twelve month high of $10.13.

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $144.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $133.68 million. Piedmont Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.550 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Piedmont Realty Trust will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Sherry Rexroad sold 4,446 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was 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 represents a 7.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Piedmont Realty Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PDM. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust by 0.3% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 16,682 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of 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. acquired a new position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $17,788,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,614,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Piedmont Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,975,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.48% of the company's stock.

About Piedmont Realty Trust

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.

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