Citigroup Inc. Acquires 169,245 Shares of COPT Defense Properties $CDP

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 117.2%, owning $8.55 million worth of shares after acquiring an additional 169,245 shares.
• COPT Defense Properties reported earnings of $0.68 per share for the last quarter, beating the consensus estimate by $0.01, but revenue was below expectations at $175.6 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.305 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.4%, and a payout ratio of 95.31%.

Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 117.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 313,668 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 169,245 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.28% of COPT Defense Properties worth $8,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 321.7% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 114.0% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 2,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 28.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 964 shares during the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

CDP traded up $0.3130 during trading on Thursday, hitting $28.3830. 1,089,628 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 799,727. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $28.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.37. COPT Defense Properties has a 1 year low of $23.92 and a 1 year high of $34.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.01. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The company had revenue of $175.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.55 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. COPT Defense Properties's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.305 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is currently 95.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $36.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, COPT Defense Properties has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.17.

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.