COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Trading 2.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) was up 2.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $31.84 and last traded at $31.80. Approximately 1,165,582 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 36% from the average daily volume of 857,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.86.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 2.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.25.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released 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 company had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is currently 96.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Britt A. Snider acquired 1,000 shares of COPT Defense Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,820. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at $407,496,000. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new stake in COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at about $100,000. American International Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,912,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co purchased a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 1st quarter worth about $4,866,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter worth approximately $307,000.

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.