Brokerages Set COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Price Target at $33.43

Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.43.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on 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.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

COPT Defense Properties stock traded down $0.11 on Monday, hitting $26.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 68,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,853. COPT Defense Properties has a one year low of $22.53 and a one year high of $34.22. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.46.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.33. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 9.07%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.305 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.62%. This is a positive change from COPT Defense Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is currently 99.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in COPT Defense Properties by 9.9% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 711,833 shares of the company's stock worth $19,412,000 after purchasing an additional 63,978 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 237,177 shares of the company's stock worth $6,468,000 after buying an additional 3,351 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 140.0% during the first quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 12,000 shares of the company's stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 7.9% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 12,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 902 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.2% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 67,547 shares of the company's stock worth $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares in the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Company Profile

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.