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

Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.8750.

CDP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup lifted their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial increased their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Philip L. Hawkins sold 5,536 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 15,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,799.48. This represents a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CDP. Norges Bank bought a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,371,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 16.8% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,457,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215,936 shares in the last quarter. GRS Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the third quarter worth about $28,399,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in COPT Defense Properties by 289.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 900,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,155,000 after buying an additional 669,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 51.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,896,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,713,000 after acquiring an additional 647,449 shares in the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

Shares of CDP stock opened at $31.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.58 and a 200-day moving average of $29.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 3.95 and a quick ratio of 3.95. COPT Defense Properties has a one year low of $23.92 and a one year high of $32.82.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is presently 94.81%.

COPT Defense Properties Company Profile

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.