COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $38.10 and last traded at $37.98, with a volume of 99633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CDP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Friday, July 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.38.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.85, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.53.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $200.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.10 million. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 20.10%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 Activity at COPT Defense Properties

In other news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 3,922 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $123,141.14. This represents a 50.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 154.2% during the fourth quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 299,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,338,000 after buying an additional 181,935 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings 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 valued at $12,710,000 after buying an additional 318,493 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter worth about $1,004,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 196,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,466,000 after buying an additional 39,524 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake 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 worth $3,253,000 after acquiring 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.