COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Director Sells $181,082.56 in Stock

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Director Philip Hawkins sold 5,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.71, for a total transaction of $181,082.56. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,799.48. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

NYSE:CDP traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $32.21. The stock had a trading volume of 111,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,359,749. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 3.95 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.42. COPT Defense Properties has a one year low of $23.92 and a one year high of $32.82.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $197.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.79 million. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 19.94% and a return on equity of 9.82%. COPT Defense Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. COPT Defense Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.710-2.790 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.670-0.690 EPS. Research analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CDP. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1,176.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC acquired a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CDP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.63.

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.