Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 2,610,019 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 187% from the previous session’s volume of 910,427 shares.The stock last traded at $6.93 and had previously closed at $7.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Trading Up 1.1 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $7.06 and its 200-day moving average is $6.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.61). Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 4.29% and a negative net margin of 12.90%. The business had revenue of $144.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $143.41 million. As a group, analysts expect that Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. Piedmont Office Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -81.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Piedmont Office Realty Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $71,000. Adero Partners LLC bought a new stake in Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new stake in Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $73,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $81,000. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC bought a new stake in Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,000. Hedge funds and other 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.