COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $37.68 and last traded at $37.7250, with a volume of 764718 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $37.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CDP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of COPT Defense Properties from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.38.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Down 1.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 2.85. The company has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $33.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.75.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.34). COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The firm had revenue of $200.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. COPT Defense Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.730-2.790 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.680-0.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other COPT Defense Properties news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 3,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total transaction of $126,994.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,141.14. The trade was a 50.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 154.2% during the 4th quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 299,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,338,000 after purchasing an additional 181,935 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 229.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 457,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,710,000 after purchasing an additional 318,493 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,004,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 110.4% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 190,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,550,000 after purchasing an additional 100,224 shares during the period. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 15.8% during the third quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,428,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,504,000 after purchasing an additional 195,149 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.