COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Time to Buy?

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) shares traded up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $31.11 and last traded at $31.11. 105,056 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 854,421 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. 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 upped their price objective 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. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.86.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 2.2 %

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 50 day simple moving average of $31.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.10 and a beta of 0.98.

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

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is 96.72%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CDP. Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the second quarter worth $50,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 711.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter worth $100,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter worth $102,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 28.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 840 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.