COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Short Interest Down 12.8% in March

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,300,000 shares, a decrease of 12.8% from the February 28th total of 6,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.2 days. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 77.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. FIL Ltd boosted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $90,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the third quarter worth about $91,000.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

CDP stock traded down $0.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.13. 1,324,127 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 916,653. COPT Defense Properties has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $34.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.98.

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COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.33. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 18.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.305 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.67%. This is a boost from COPT Defense Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is presently 99.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.43.

COPT Defense Properties Company Profile

COPT Defense Properties is a real estate investment trust. It acquires, develops, manages, sells, and leases out office properties and data centers. The firm operates through the following segments: Defense/Information Technology Locations, Regional Office, Wholesale Data Center, and Other. The company was founded on January 22,1988 and is headquartered in Columbia, MD.