COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Shares Break Below 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• COPT Defense Properties shares fell below their 200-day moving average, trading as low as $33.35 and closing near $33.42, down 1.5%.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with five Buy ratings and three Holds; the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $38.00.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.32, equivalent to a 3.8% yield, though its 88.89% payout ratio is relatively high.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $33.54 and traded as low as $33.35. COPT Defense Properties shares last traded at $33.42, with a volume of 667,593 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CDP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.00.

COPT Defense Properties Trading Down 1.5%

The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21 and a beta of 0.77.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $197.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.36 million. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 20.94% and a return on equity of 10.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 38.8% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,159 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in COPT Defense Properties by 16.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 27,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $833,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 23,198 shares of the company's stock worth $710,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Company Profile

COPT Defense Properties is a real estate investment trust that owns, develops, manages and leases properties designed to support the U.S. government, defense and information technology sectors. Its portfolio includes office buildings, data centers, specialized facilities and other mission-critical properties leased primarily to government agencies, defense contractors and technology companies.

The company's properties are concentrated in key defense and national security markets, including Northern Virginia, suburban Maryland and the broader Washington, DC, region.

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