COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.3750.

Several analysts recently weighed in on CDP shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of COPT Defense Properties from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Monday, July 6th. 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 report on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CDP opened at $36.49 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $33.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 2.85. COPT Defense Properties has a 1-year low of $26.91 and a 1-year high of $38.06. The company has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.44 and a beta of 0.76.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The company had revenue of $200.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. COPT Defense Properties’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other COPT Defense Properties news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 3,922 shares of COPT Defense Properties stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total transaction of $126,994.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,141.14. The trade was a 50.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 154.2% in the fourth quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 299,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,338,000 after purchasing an additional 181,935 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 229.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 457,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,710,000 after buying an additional 318,493 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,004,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted 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 buying an additional 100,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 117,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,253,000 after buying an additional 38,070 shares in the last quarter.

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.