Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) Short Interest Up 61.0% in August

Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 5,672,173 shares, an increase of 61.0% from the July 30th total of 3,522,104 shares. Approximately 4.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 953,165 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust by 154.3% in the 4th quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 3,429,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,080,658 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $17,788,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Piedmont Realty Trust by 368.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,046,431 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,919 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Piedmont Realty Trust by 938.7% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,232,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in Piedmont Realty Trust by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 6,698,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,863,000 after buying an additional 812,700 shares in the last quarter. 84.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PDM shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Piedmont Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price objective (up from $10.00) on shares of Piedmont Realty Trust in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Piedmont Realty Trust from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.50.

Piedmont Realty Trust Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE PDM traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $9.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,628,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,029,947. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $9.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.42. Piedmont Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $6.32 and a 52 week high of $10.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.69 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.03). Piedmont Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 5.39%. The business had revenue of $144.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $133.68 million. Piedmont Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.550 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Piedmont Realty Trust will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Piedmont Realty Trust

Piedmont Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, that focuses on the ownership, acquisition and management of office properties. The company’s portfolio comprises a mix of multi-tenant and single-tenant buildings, with a particular emphasis on small- to mid-size office campuses and urban infill properties. Piedmont Realty Trust structures its leases and property services to support a diversified base of tenants, including professional services firms, government agencies and technology companies.

The company’s operating model combines property management, leasing and strategic capital allocation to enhance asset value and drive income stability.