Piedmont Office Realty downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird

Baird downgraded Piedmont Office Realty (PDM) to Neutral from Outperform with an $11 price target The firm says office transaction market “remains dislocated,” and it continues to favor names “with the dry powder and balance sheet flexibility to deploy in this environment.” It is stepping to the sidelines on Piedmont, anticipating that the next catalyst for shares, which involves recycling assets from the Northeast and redeploying into the Sunbelt, will take time to materialize.