COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Trading 2.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)’s share price shot up 2.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $31.84 and last traded at $31.80. 1,165,582 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 36% from the average session volume of 857,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CDP. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 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. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.86.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.07 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.17.

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). COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 18.34%. The firm had revenue of $189.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.70%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.72%.

Insider Activity at COPT Defense Properties

In other news, COO Britt A. Snider bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $29.41 per share, for a total transaction of $29,410.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $58,820. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CDP. Spirit of America Management Corp NY purchased a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the second quarter worth $50,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 711.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 28.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter worth about $100,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $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.