Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Piedmont Realty Trust shares rose above their 200-day moving average of $8.79, reaching $9.12 before closing at $9.045.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with one Buy, two Hold and one Sell rating; the consensus view is Hold with a $10.67 price target.
• The REIT missed quarterly EPS expectations but exceeded revenue forecasts. Its CFO sold shares to cover tax withholding, while institutional investors own a substantial 84.48% stake.

Shares of Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $8.79 and traded as high as $9.12. Piedmont Realty Trust shares last traded at $9.0450, with a volume of 652,619 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PDM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Piedmont Realty Trust from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Piedmont Realty Trust from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price target (up from $10.00) on shares of Piedmont Realty Trust in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Piedmont Realty Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.67.

Piedmont Realty Trust Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of -13.92 and a beta of 1.39. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $9.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.79.

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $144.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $133.68 million. Piedmont Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 5.39% and a negative net margin of 14.18%. Piedmont Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.550 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Piedmont Realty Trust news, CFO Sherry Rexroad sold 4,446 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The sale 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. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Piedmont Realty Trust

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PDM. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Piedmont Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,614,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,357,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust by 16.5% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,350,794 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,660,000 after buying an additional 474,144 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust by 63,822.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 474,943 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,120,000 after buying an additional 474,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust in the second quarter worth $17,788,000. 84.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.