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

Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.14.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $36.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report 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 target price for the company.

Insider Activity at COPT Defense Properties

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 813.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,247,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $193,371,000 after purchasing an additional 5,563,548 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at $52,679,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $45,718,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 192.9% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,158,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,847,000 after buying an additional 762,840 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 25.7% during 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.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

CDP stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.59. 609,937 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 946,811. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.25 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.39. COPT Defense Properties has a 52 week low of $23.84 and a 52 week high of $34.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.65. The firm had revenue of $187.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 18.44%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.305 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. 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.