Strs Ohio Trims Stake in COPT Defense Properties $CDP

Key Points

• Strs Ohio reduced its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 26.7% in the first quarter, selling 53,000 shares and leaving it with 145,200 shares worth about $4.44 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with several firms raising price targets; the stock’s consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” and the average target price is $35.38.
• CDP shares were trading near a 52-week high at $37.77, while the company also recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.34, below expectations, and declared a $0.32 quarterly dividend.

Strs Ohio cut its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 26.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,200 shares of the company's stock after selling 53,000 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned about 0.13% of COPT Defense Properties worth $4,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CDP. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 229.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 457,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,710,000 after acquiring an additional 318,493 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 154.2% during the 4th quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 299,934 shares of the company's stock worth $8,338,000 after acquiring an additional 181,935 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,004,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 110.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 190,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,550,000 after purchasing an additional 100,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,428,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,504,000 after purchasing an additional 195,149 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CDP. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Truist Financial upped their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.38.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of CDP stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $37.77. 59,717 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,123,638. COPT Defense Properties has a 52-week low of $26.91 and a 52-week high of $37.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.35 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 2.85. The stock's fifty day moving average is $33.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.64.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.34). COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 20.10%.The firm had revenue of $200.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $185.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. COPT Defense Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.730-2.790 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.680-0.700 EPS. Equities analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is presently 92.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at COPT Defense Properties

In other COPT Defense Properties news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 3,922 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total transaction of $126,994.36. Following the sale, the director owned 3,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $123,141.14. The trade was a 50.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.66% of the company's stock.

About COPT Defense Properties

COPT Defense Properties NYSE: CDP is a real estate investment trust organized to own, lease and manage healthcare and life science facilities serving the United States federal government, with a particular focus on Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs tenants. The company was formed in 2016 through a spin-off from Corporate Office Properties Trust, enabling it to concentrate exclusively on medical office buildings and specialized research facilities situated on or near military and federal research campuses.

The company's portfolio comprises purpose-built, Class A medical office and outpatient specialty clinics, as well as life science laboratories.

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