COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Trading 0.9% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) traded up 0.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $32.93 and last traded at $32.77. 197,801 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 884,142 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CDP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.86 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.96.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.37 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is 96.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 32.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 55,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,684,000 after purchasing an additional 13,606 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 17,553 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 65.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,274,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,761 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 66.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 233,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,808,000 after acquiring an additional 93,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 173.3% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 36,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,000 after acquiring an additional 23,257 shares in the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Company Profile

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.