COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Trading Up 1.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) were up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after BTIG Research raised their price target on the stock from $33.00 to $38.00. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. COPT Defense Properties traded as high as $33.36 and last traded at $33.29. Approximately 216,646 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 872,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.70.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, COPT Defense Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at COPT Defense Properties

In other COPT Defense Properties news, COO Britt A. Snider bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.41 per share, for a total transaction of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,820. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CDP. Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 711.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 3,052 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the 3rd quarter worth about $91,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the 1st quarter valued at about $102,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 840 shares in the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 18.34% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The firm had revenue of $189.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.37 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.72%.

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.