Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $8.84, but opened at $8.50. Piedmont Office Realty Trust shares last traded at $8.60, with a volume of 66,395 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Baird R W lowered shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lowered Piedmont Office Realty Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $11.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $9.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.20 and a beta of 1.19.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.46). The firm had revenue of $139.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $143.56 million. Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 4.61% and a negative net margin of 13.47%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. Analysts expect that Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.68%. Piedmont Office Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -80.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Piedmont Office Realty Trust

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 4,916 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at $85,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at about $98,000. Finally, Optas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $101,000. Institutional investors own 84.48% of the company's stock.

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.