COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Research Coverage Started at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased 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 target on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, COPT Defense Properties currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.38.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE CDP opened at $27.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $28.19 and its 200 day moving average is $30.19. COPT Defense Properties has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $34.22.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.33. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 9.07%. On average, equities research analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.305 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is currently 99.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 13,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 5,135 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at about $252,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 31.4% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 11,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 13.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 231,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,010,000 after purchasing an additional 27,812 shares in the last quarter.

About COPT Defense Properties

COPT Defense Properties is a real estate investment trust. It acquires, develops, manages, sells, and leases out office properties and data centers. The firm operates through the following segments: Defense/Information Technology Locations, Regional Office, Wholesale Data Center, and Other. The company was founded on January 22,1988 and is headquartered in Columbia, MD.