Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) Hits New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $5.73 and last traded at $5.70, with a volume of 625558 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Piedmont Office Realty Trust from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 price target (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Stock Up 4.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $814.87 million, a PE ratio of -10.45 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $6.91 and a 200-day moving average of $8.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.22.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $136.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $141.29 million. Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 13.86% and a negative return on equity of 4.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.63%. Piedmont Office Realty Trust's payout ratio is currently -102.04%.

Insider Activity at Piedmont Office Realty Trust

In other Piedmont Office Realty Trust news, CFO Sherry L. Rexroad acquired 16,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.95 per share, for a total transaction of $100,257.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at $100,257.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Piedmont Office Realty Trust

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 809.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,955 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 3,520 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. bought a new position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $95,000. Institutional investors own 84.48% of the company's stock.

About Piedmont Office Realty Trust

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.