COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Receives $27.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.00.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CDP shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of COPT Defense Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of COPT Defense Properties from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target (down from $29.00) on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Friday, March 22nd.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CDP opened at $24.63 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.19. COPT Defense Properties has a 52-week low of $21.76 and a 52-week high of $26.80. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 3.66, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.79%. This is a positive change from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is presently -109.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at about $13,958,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $622,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,498,000.

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.