COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Short Interest Update

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in 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 trading volume, of 1,026,445 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days. Approximately 6.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at COPT Defense Properties

In related news, Director Philip L. Hawkins sold 5,536 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $496,799.48. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CDP. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in COPT Defense Properties in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 1,176.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Friday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.88.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CDP opened at $30.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.91 and a beta of 0.86. COPT Defense Properties has a twelve month low of $23.92 and a twelve month high of $32.82. The company has a quick ratio of 3.95, a current ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.54 and a 200 day moving average of $29.93.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $197.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a boost from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is 90.37%.

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.