COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Trading Down 0.4% – Time to Sell?

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)’s stock price traded down 0.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $32.13 and last traded at $32.24. 125,382 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 886,261 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

COPT Defense Properties Trading Down 0.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13 and a beta of 0.98.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $189.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.34% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Quarry LP increased its position in COPT Defense Properties by 711.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 3,052 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the third quarter valued at $91,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 28.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the period.

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.