Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Acquires New Stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $324,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at $2,498,000. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at $622,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter worth $1,446,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at $407,496,000.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:CDP opened at $29.84 on Tuesday. COPT Defense Properties has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $34.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.09.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 EPS 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 company had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. 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 note on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Britt A. Snider purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,820. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

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.