COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Short Interest Update

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,300,000 shares, a decrease of 12.8% from the February 28th total of 6,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the third quarter worth approximately $91,000.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

Shares of COPT Defense Properties stock opened at $27.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11 and a beta of 0.96. COPT Defense Properties has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $34.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.47.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its 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 forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share 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 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.305 per share. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. This is a boost from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CDP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on COPT Defense Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.43.

About COPT Defense Properties

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.