COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Trading 0.8% Higher – Time to Buy?

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)’s stock price rose 0.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $33.35 and last traded at $33.30. Approximately 405,906 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 880,367 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CDP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. BTIG Research upped their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Truist Financial lifted 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 note on Wednesday, December 4th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, COPT Defense Properties currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

COPT Defense Properties Price 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’s fifty day moving average price is $31.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.90. The company has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 0.98.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 65.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,274,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,948,000 after buying an additional 1,293,761 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 179.5% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,190,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,807,000 after purchasing an additional 764,859 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 404.8% in the 3rd 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. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 443.1% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 692,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,327,000 after buying an additional 564,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 315.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 567,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,978,000 after purchasing an additional 431,173 shares during the last quarter.

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.