COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $26.69, but opened at $25.31. COPT Defense Properties shares last traded at $25.66, with a volume of 112,528 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on COPT Defense Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.43.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.59 and a beta of 0.86.

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 for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.65. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 18.44%. The company had revenue of $187.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.305 dividend. This is a boost from COPT Defense Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is currently 97.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CDP. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 67.2% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 211,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,767,000 after buying an additional 84,985 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 27,034 shares of the company's stock worth $737,000 after acquiring an additional 5,145 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,945,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,047,000 after purchasing an additional 38,916 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 711,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,412,000 after purchasing an additional 63,978 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $6,468,000 after purchasing an additional 3,351 shares in the last quarter.

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.