COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Short Interest Down 6.0% in October

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,910,000 shares, a decline of 6.0% from the October 15th total of 4,160,000 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 807,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on CDP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial increased their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Wedbush raised 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 note on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, COPT Defense Properties currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.86.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Down 0.2 %

CDP opened at $29.84 on Tuesday. COPT Defense Properties has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $34.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last posted 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. COPT Defense Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

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 $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 96.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Britt A. Snider purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Spirit of America Management Corp NY acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 711.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 3,052 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 28.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 1st quarter worth approximately $100,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at $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.