COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Stock Price Up 0.2% – Here’s Why

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) traded up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $32.75 and last traded at $32.71. 67,578 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 885,001 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CDP. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Truist Financial upped their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $31.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.98. 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 $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81 and a beta of 0.98.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.34% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 55,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,684,000 after purchasing an additional 13,606 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 82.3% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 17,553 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 65.3% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,274,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,948,000 after buying an additional 1,293,761 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 66.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 233,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,808,000 after buying an additional 93,396 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 173.3% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 36,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,000 after buying an additional 23,257 shares in the last quarter.

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.