Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut Piedmont Office Realty Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Baird R W cut shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Stock Performance

Piedmont Office Realty Trust stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $7.07. 746,972 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 747,561. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $8.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.30. The firm has a market cap of $876.06 million, a PE ratio of -11.21 and a beta of 1.19. Piedmont Office Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $5.93 and a twelve month high of $11.11.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.37. The business had revenue of $143.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $142.16 million. Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 4.77% and a negative net margin of 13.86%. Equities analysts predict that Piedmont Office Realty Trust will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Piedmont Office Realty Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PDM. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 809.2% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,955 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 3,520 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 34.8% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 51.3% in the third 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. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 25.4% in 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 period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 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.