Brokerages Set COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Target Price at $33.14

Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.14.

Several research analysts have weighed in on CDP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $36.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 4,398 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.70, for a total transaction of $117,426.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CDP. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,834,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,386,000 after buying an additional 586,966 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,795,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,425,000 after acquiring an additional 89,571 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 25.7% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,627,108 shares of the company's stock worth $98,911,000 after acquiring an additional 741,765 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,283,383 shares of the company's stock worth $101,621,000 after acquiring an additional 590,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,099,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,916,000 after purchasing an additional 335,775 shares during the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Trading Up 0.1%

COPT Defense Properties stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.22. 1,085,139 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 951,951. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $27.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.83. COPT Defense Properties has a fifty-two week low of $23.92 and a fifty-two week high of $34.22.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65. The firm had revenue of $187.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 18.86%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.305 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.60%.

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.