COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Stock Price Down 0.4% – Time to Sell?

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) was down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $32.74 and last traded at $32.83. Approximately 685,918 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 875,012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on CDP shares. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.75.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.91 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.56.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last issued 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). COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 18.34%. The business had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 96.72%.

Insider Transactions at COPT Defense Properties

In other news, COO Britt A. Snider acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $29.41 per share, for a total transaction of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $58,820. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CDP. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,702,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,255,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,721,000.

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.