COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.8750.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Insider Transactions at COPT Defense Properties

In other COPT Defense Properties news, Director Philip L. Hawkins sold 5,536 shares of COPT Defense Properties stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.71, for a total transaction of $181,082.56. Following the sale, the director owned 15,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,799.48. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 12.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 104,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,853,000 after acquiring an additional 11,316 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 67,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 834,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,744,000 after purchasing an additional 39,683 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 152.4% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 214,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,839,000 after purchasing an additional 129,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 21.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,382,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,128,000 after purchasing an additional 245,433 shares in the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of CDP stock opened at $32.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 3.95 and a quick ratio of 3.95. The company has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.75. COPT Defense Properties has a 1-year low of $23.92 and a 1-year high of $32.82.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $197.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.79 million. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 19.94% and a return on equity of 9.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. COPT Defense Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.710-2.790 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.670-0.690 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is 90.37%.

About COPT Defense Properties

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE: CDP) is a real estate investment trust organized to own, lease and manage healthcare and life science facilities serving the United States federal government, with a particular focus on Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs tenants. The company was formed in 2016 through a spin-off from Corporate Office Properties Trust, enabling it to concentrate exclusively on medical office buildings and specialized research facilities situated on or near military and federal research campuses.

The company’s portfolio comprises purpose-built, Class A medical office and outpatient specialty clinics, as well as life science laboratories.