COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Stock Price Up 0.8% – What’s Next?

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) shot up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $33.28 and last traded at $33.10. 377,917 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 872,969 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CDP shares. BTIG Research raised their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, COPT Defense Properties currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.75.

COPT Defense Properties Trading Up 0.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 27.01 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $31.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.53.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Britt A. Snider purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,820. The trade was a 100.00 % increase in their position. The transaction 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 Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spirit of America Management Corp NY acquired a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in COPT Defense Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at about $91,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 711.4% in 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 28.3% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first 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.