Citigroup Inc. Boosts Stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) by 81.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,075 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,389 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in COPT Defense Properties were worth $4,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 35,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 1.0% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 58,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 31,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 3.5% in the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Presima Securities ULC raised its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 1.3% in the third quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 60,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,832,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CDP has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Wednesday, September 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.75.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

Shares of CDP opened at $32.52 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.67. COPT Defense Properties has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $34.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66 and a beta of 0.98.

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

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued 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 is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is currently 96.72%.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.41 per share, for a total transaction of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,820. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

COPT Defense Properties 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.