COPT Defense Properties (CDP) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.30 on October 17th

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 8th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.295 per share on Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th.

COPT Defense Properties has a payout ratio of 92.7% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Research analysts expect COPT Defense Properties to earn $2.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.14 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 43.0%.

COPT Defense Properties Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CDP opened at $30.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.99. COPT Defense Properties has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $30.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.16 and its 200-day moving average is $26.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a current ratio of 3.17.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.33). The business had revenue of $187.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.11 million. COPT Defense Properties had a negative net margin of 15.75% and a negative return on equity of 7.52%. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on CDP shares. Truist Financial boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on 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 five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Britt A. Snider bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,820. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

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.