COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Trading 3.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)’s stock price traded up 3.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $33.01 and last traded at $32.85. 906,855 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the average session volume of 867,509 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wedbush boosted their target price 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. Evercore ISI upped 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. Truist Financial lifted their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.86.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93 and a beta of 0.98. 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 data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 EPS 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 analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.72%.

Insider Activity at COPT Defense Properties

In other COPT Defense Properties news, COO Britt A. Snider purchased 1,000 shares of COPT Defense Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $58,820. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the 1st quarter valued at about $407,496,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 65.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,927,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,797,000 after acquiring an additional 21,388 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,763,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,810,000 after purchasing an additional 49,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,522,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,521,000 after purchasing an additional 18,770 shares in 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.