Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes Position in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 313,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,571,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.28% of COPT Defense Properties at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at about $100,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at about $102,000. Finally, Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at about $201,000.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 1.0 %

COPT Defense Properties stock traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $28.55. The stock had a trading volume of 45,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 840,799. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.17, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 3.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.46. COPT Defense Properties has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $29.12.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.33). COPT Defense Properties had a negative return on equity of 7.53% and a negative net margin of 16.83%. The firm had revenue of $187.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -109.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Monday, April 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.00.

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.