COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $20.50 and last traded at $25.42, with a volume of 400 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.43.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05 and a beta of 0.92.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.33. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 9.07%. Equities analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.305 per share. This is a boost from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 358,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,859,000 after acquiring an additional 119,316 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 1.4% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 140,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in COPT Defense Properties by 87.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 218,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,643,000 after purchasing an additional 102,280 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 3.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc boosted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 101,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,068,000 after buying an additional 1,760 shares during the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Company Profile

COPT Defense Properties is a real estate investment trust. It acquires, develops, manages, sells, and leases out office properties and data centers. The firm operates through the following segments: Defense/Information Technology Locations, Regional Office, Wholesale Data Center, and Other. The company was founded on January 22,1988 and is headquartered in Columbia, MD.