Wells Fargo & Company Lowers COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Price Target to $32.00

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) had its target price trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $33.00 to $32.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $30.00.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

NYSE:CDP opened at $29.33 on Wednesday. COPT Defense Properties has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $30.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $28.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.53. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently -109.26%.

Insider Transactions at COPT Defense Properties

In other news, COO Britt A. Snider bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $58,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CDP. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at $886,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,922 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in COPT Defense Properties by 711.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 20.4% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 372,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,315,000 after purchasing an additional 62,998 shares during the period. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 140.0% in the second quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,509,000 after buying an additional 175,000 shares during the last quarter.

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.