Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) Hits New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $6.19 and last traded at $6.31, with a volume of 65826 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PDM. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $10.00 target price (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Piedmont Office Realty Trust from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $766.98 million, a PE ratio of -9.79 and a beta of 1.21. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $7.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37. Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 4.82% and a negative net margin of 13.86%. The company had revenue of $143.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.16 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Piedmont Office Realty Trust's payout ratio is currently -79.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Piedmont Office Realty Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 21,413 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 1,713 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 10.1% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 318,924 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,221,000 after acquiring an additional 29,139 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 1.4% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 166,383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 237,407 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,398,000 after purchasing an additional 111,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,217,213 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $32,499,000 after purchasing an additional 48,944 shares during the period. 84.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.