COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Trading Up 0.4% on Analyst Upgrade

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) shares shot up 0.4% on Thursday after BTIG Research raised their price target on the stock from $33.00 to $38.00. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. COPT Defense Properties traded as high as $33.36 and last traded at $32.83. 864,750 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 1% from the average session volume of 875,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.70.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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, Truist Financial lifted 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, COPT Defense Properties has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.75.

Insider Activity at COPT Defense Properties

In other news, COO Britt A. Snider acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,820. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 3rd quarter worth about $91,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 42,381 shares of the company's stock worth $1,349,000 after buying an additional 4,885 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,927,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,797,000 after purchasing an additional 21,388 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 101,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

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 50-day moving average of $31.52 and a 200-day moving average of $28.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91 and a beta of 0.98.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.32). COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.34% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The business had revenue of $189.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. COPT Defense Properties's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 96.72%.

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.