COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Stake Boosted by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc grew its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,165 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,760 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in COPT Defense Properties were worth $3,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 58,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 31,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $789,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Down 1.7 %

COPT Defense Properties stock opened at $32.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 2.38. COPT Defense Properties has a fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $34.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.90.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is 96.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

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.