Short Interest in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Declines By 6.0%

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,910,000 shares, a decrease of 6.0% from the October 15th total of 4,160,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 807,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Britt A. Snider bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $29.41 per share, for a total transaction of $29,410.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,820. The trade was a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 35,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.0% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 58,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 31,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 3.5% during the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 3.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

CDP stock opened at $30.41 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.14. COPT Defense Properties has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $34.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93 and a beta of 0.98.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.32). COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 18.34%. The business had revenue of $189.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is 96.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CDP. Evercore ISI increased their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush raised their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Truist Financial raised their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, COPT Defense Properties currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.86.

About COPT Defense Properties

COPT Defense, an S&P MidCap 400 Company, is a self-managed REIT focused on owning, operating and developing properties in locations proximate to, or sometimes containing, key U.S. Government (USG) defense installations and missions (referred to as its Defense/IT Portfolio). The Company's tenants include the USG and their defense contractors, who are primarily engaged in priority national security activities, and who generally require mission-critical and high security property enhancements.