COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Stock Price Up 2.1% – What’s Next?

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)’s share price traded up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $31.84 and last traded at $31.80. 1,165,582 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 36% from the average session volume of 857,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CDP. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush lifted their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.86.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.30 and a 200-day moving average of $28.17.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.32). COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 18.34%. The company had revenue of $189.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.37 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. COPT Defense Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.72%.

Insider Activity at COPT Defense Properties

In other news, COO Britt A. Snider acquired 1,000 shares of COPT Defense Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,820. The trade was a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CDP. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter worth $407,496,000. Earnest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter valued at about $129,344,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 65.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,274,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,761 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 179.5% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,190,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,807,000 after purchasing an additional 764,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 404.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 792,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,043,000 after purchasing an additional 635,705 shares during the period.

About COPT Defense Properties

COPT Defense, an S&P MidCap 400 Company, is a self-managed REIT focused on owning, operating and developing properties in locations proximate to, or sometimes containing, key U.S. Government (USG) defense installations and missions (referred to as its Defense/IT Portfolio). The Company's tenants include the USG and their defense contractors, who are primarily engaged in priority national security activities, and who generally require mission-critical and high security property enhancements.