COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.43.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group assumed 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 on the stock.

COPT Defense Properties Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of CDP opened at $27.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.92. COPT Defense Properties has a 52-week low of $23.47 and a 52-week high of $34.22.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65. The business had revenue of $187.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. Analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.305 per share. This is a boost from COPT Defense Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is currently 97.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 321.7% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,071 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 102.0% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,186 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 9,030.4% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,100 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,077 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter worth about $74,000.

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.

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