COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Trading 0.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) shares shot up 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $31.36 and last traded at $30.95. 78,960 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 887,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, COPT Defense Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 25.50 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.32.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $189.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.34% and a return on equity of 8.99%. COPT Defense Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is 96.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 65.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in COPT Defense Properties by 179.5% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,190,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,807,000 after acquiring an additional 764,859 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 404.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 792,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,043,000 after buying an additional 635,705 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 315.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 567,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,978,000 after acquiring an additional 431,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 876,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,580,000 after buying an additional 367,969 shares during the period.

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.