COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.86.

CDP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted 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 reduced their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective 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.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

CDP opened at $31.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.17. COPT Defense Properties has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $34.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last issued its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 18.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Britt A. Snider acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at $58,820. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Spirit of America Management Corp NY purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 711.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter worth $100,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter worth $102,000.

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.