COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• COPT Defense Properties hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $33.41 after rising about 3.4% in mid-day trading.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive: Wells Fargo lifted its target to $36 with an overweight rating, and MarketBeat shows an average Moderate Buy rating with a $35 price target.
• The company recently posted mixed quarterly results, missing EPS estimates but beating revenue expectations, while also maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share for a 3.8% yield.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $33.41 and last traded at $33.3360, with a volume of 29697 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CDP shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of COPT Defense Properties from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, COPT Defense Properties currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.00.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 3.4%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.81 and a 200 day moving average of $30.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.85, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $200.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.10 million. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 20.10%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. COPT Defense Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.730-2.790 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.680-0.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.75%.

Insider Transactions at COPT Defense Properties

In related news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 3,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total transaction of $126,994.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at $123,141.14. This represents a 50.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,127,858 shares of the company's stock worth $476,154,000 after acquiring an additional 128,583 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 16.8% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,457,373 shares of the company's stock worth $245,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,215,936 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,862,294 shares of the company's stock worth $107,372,000 after acquiring an additional 296,221 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,130 shares of the company's stock worth $87,558,000 after acquiring an additional 17,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 21.0% during the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 2,913,596 shares of the company's stock worth $84,669,000 after acquiring an additional 506,593 shares in the last quarter.

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.

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