COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Short Interest Update

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,761,614 shares, an increase of 34.9% from the February 26th total of 5,011,698 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,026,445 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.6 days. Currently, 6.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CDP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target 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. Truist Financial upped their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.88.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

CDP traded down $0.69 during trading on Friday, reaching $30.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,116,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,086,661. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.54 and a 200-day moving average of $29.93. COPT Defense Properties has a one year low of $23.92 and a one year high of $32.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a current ratio of 3.95. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69 and a beta of 0.86.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 9.82% and a net margin of 19.94%.The firm had revenue of $197.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.37%.

Insider Activity at COPT Defense Properties

In related news, Director Philip L. Hawkins sold 5,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.71, for a total value of $181,082.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,799.48. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 196,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,466,000 after purchasing an additional 39,524 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 15,030.8% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 477,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,263,000 after buying an additional 473,920 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 283.7% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 2,346 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 768,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,357,000 after acquiring an additional 10,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 47.2% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 10,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 3,439 shares during the period.

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.