COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.86.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CDP. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wedbush boosted their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th.

Insider Transactions at COPT Defense Properties

In related news, COO Britt A. Snider bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,820. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter worth about $407,496,000. Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter worth about $129,344,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter worth about $90,045,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 65.3% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,274,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 9.6% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,983,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,648,000 after acquiring an additional 174,206 shares in the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CDP opened at $31.95 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.19 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. COPT Defense Properties has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $33.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.46.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.32). The business 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is 96.72%.

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.