COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Shares Down 0.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) were down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $32.13 and last traded at $32.24. Approximately 125,382 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 886,261 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research raised their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report 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 company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. 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 report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, COPT Defense Properties presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

COPT Defense Properties Trading Down 0.9 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $32.00 and its 200 day moving average is $29.26.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released 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). The company had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 18.34%. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CDP. Millennium Management LLC boosted 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 stake in COPT Defense Properties by 179.5% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,190,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,807,000 after acquiring an additional 764,859 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 404.8% during 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 worth $24,043,000 after acquiring an additional 635,705 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 443.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 692,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,327,000 after acquiring an additional 564,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 315.1% in 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 period.

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.