COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Trading Down 0.9% - Here's Why

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 0.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $32.12 and last traded at $32.24. 136,275 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 877,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. BTIG Research upped their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, COPT Defense Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.00.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Down 0.8 %

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 firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $31.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.67.

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, sell-side analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is 96.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at COPT Defense Properties

In related news, COO Britt A. Snider acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's 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 directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,820. The trade was a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CDP. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 65.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,274,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,948,000 after buying an additional 1,293,761 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 0.7% during 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,763,277 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,810,000 after purchasing an additional 49,300 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,522,955 shares of the company's stock worth $76,521,000 after acquiring an additional 18,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,983,526 shares of the company's stock worth $49,648,000 after acquiring an additional 174,206 shares in the last quarter.

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.

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