COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 179.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,190,853 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 764,859 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.06% of COPT Defense Properties worth $29,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CDP. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new stake in COPT Defense Properties in the second quarter worth about $50,000. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $102,000.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:CDP traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $29.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 835,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 834,282. The company has a quick ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. COPT Defense Properties has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $30.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.56 and a 200-day moving average of $25.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of -27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.98.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.33). The business had revenue of $187.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $166.11 million. COPT Defense Properties had a negative return on equity of 7.52% and a negative net margin of 15.75%. COPT Defense Properties's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently -109.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CDP shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.50.

COPT Defense Properties 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.