COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Trading Up 3.2% – Should You Buy?

Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) shot up 3.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $33.01 and last traded at $32.85. 906,855 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the average session volume of 867,509 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on CDP shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.86.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 1.2 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.33 and a 200-day moving average of $28.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93 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.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 18.34%. The company’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Research analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.72%.

Insider Activity at COPT Defense Properties

In other COPT Defense Properties news, COO Britt A. Snider bought 1,000 shares of COPT Defense Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.41 per share, for a total transaction of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $58,820. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of COPT Defense Properties

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 35,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 58,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after buying an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 31,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC grew its position in COPT Defense Properties by 3.5% in the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 3.4% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the last quarter.

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.