Arizona State Retirement System Boosts Holdings in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,508 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in COPT Defense Properties were worth $789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 1.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 58,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 19,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. grew its position in COPT Defense Properties by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 17,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at about $39,000.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:CDP opened at $30.10 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.62. The company has a quick ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of -27.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.99. COPT Defense Properties has a fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $30.15.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.33). The company had revenue of $187.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.11 million. COPT Defense Properties had a negative net margin of 15.75% and a negative return on equity of 7.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently -109.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CDP. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Insider Transactions at COPT Defense Properties

In other COPT Defense Properties news, COO Britt A. Snider bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $29.41 per share, for a total transaction of $29,410.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,820. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

COPT Defense Properties 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.