COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Jefferies Financial Group Analyst Says

Key Points

• COPT Defense Properties has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Jefferies Financial Group, reflecting enhanced investor confidence in the stock.
• The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the previous quarter, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, while also providing cautious guidance for Q3 2025.
• Institutional investments in COPT Defense Properties have seen significant increases, with some firms boosting their stakes by over 1,000% in recent quarters, indicating strong institutional interest.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $32.00 to $33.00 in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 18.62% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on CDP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 29th. New Street Research set a $33.00 price target on COPT Defense Properties in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.75.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:CDP opened at $27.82 on Monday. COPT Defense Properties has a twelve month low of $23.92 and a twelve month high of $34.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $29.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.91.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.01. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 19.23%.The firm had revenue of $175.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.55 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. COPT Defense Properties has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.660-0.680 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.650-2.690 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at COPT Defense Properties

In other news, Director Lisa G. Trimberger sold 4,896 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.72, for a total transaction of $150,405.12. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at $623,216.64. This represents a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of COPT Defense Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 7,241,437 shares of the company's stock worth $199,719,000 after purchasing an additional 406,617 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,627,108 shares of the company's stock worth $98,911,000 after purchasing an additional 741,765 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,101,692 shares of the company's stock worth $85,553,000 after purchasing an additional 45,375 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,577,065 shares of the company's stock worth $71,075,000 after purchasing an additional 131,287 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,194,240 shares of the company's stock worth $60,517,000 after purchasing an additional 52,981 shares during the period.

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.