COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,910,000 shares, a decrease of 6.0% from the October 15th total of 4,160,000 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 807,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CDP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wedbush lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on 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 target 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. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, August 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.86.

COPT Defense Properties Trading Down 0.2 %

CDP stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Monday, reaching $29.84. 964,414 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 856,063. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.06. COPT Defense Properties has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $34.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46 and a beta of 0.98.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. 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 (DPR) is presently 96.72%.

Insider Activity

In other COPT Defense Properties news, COO Britt A. Snider acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at $58,820. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter worth $2,498,000. Swiss National Bank bought a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter worth about $5,361,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,702,000. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at $2,721,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter valued at $1,637,000.

COPT Defense Properties Company Profile

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.