COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.88.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial increased their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

COPT Defense Properties Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of CDP opened at $29.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36 and a beta of 0.99. COPT Defense Properties has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $34.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.11.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 18.34%. The company had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CDP. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 65.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,274,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,761 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,927,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,797,000 after buying an additional 21,388 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 1.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,763,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,810,000 after buying an additional 49,300 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 35.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,693,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,689,000 after acquiring an additional 710,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,522,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,521,000 after acquiring an additional 18,770 shares during the period.

About COPT Defense Properties

COPT Defense Properties is a real estate investment trust. It acquires, develops, manages, sells, and leases out office properties and data centers. The firm operates through the following segments: Defense/Information Technology Locations, Regional Office, Wholesale Data Center, and Other. The company was founded on January 22,1988 and is headquartered in Columbia, MD.