COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.43.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on COPT Defense Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CDP opened at $26.36 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 0.92. COPT Defense Properties has a 52 week low of $22.53 and a 52 week high of $34.22.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.33. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 9.07%. On average, analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.305 per share. This is an increase from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 99.19%.

Institutional Trading of COPT Defense Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CDP. FIL Ltd increased its position in COPT Defense Properties by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 16,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 6,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its position in COPT Defense Properties by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the last quarter.

About COPT Defense Properties

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.